mergers

Financing

Piece of Culver's is sold

The Culver family retains control, but a board seat has been extended to the buyer, Roark Capital.

Financing

Romano's Macaroni Grill files for bankruptcy protection

Management says the venerable Italian chain will use the filing to renegotiate leases on 37 closed sites.

Restaurant dealmaking is at its highest level in 11 years. The transactions record could be shattered if these blockbuster acquisitions, already the subjects of Wall Street speculation, should go down.

Bloomin' Brands agreed to add an industry veteran to its board under an agreement with Jana Partners, one of two shareholders that have been sympathetic to spinning off secondary brands.

A flurry of news reports say Starbucks is interested in buying the bakery chain. Neither party has commented on the speculation.

The bakery-cafe chain's pending acquisition by JAB Holdings is one of the biggest restaurant deals ever. Here are some other indications of the sale, along with metrics on what the transaction could mean for the industry.

The 46-unit chain is selling a minority interest to an investor in Bartaco and Airbnb.

Tava Kitchen has been acquired by Curry Up Now.

The two sports bar concepts were sold by one private-equity firm to another.

Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes were acquired by a private-equity firm and an investor that operates its holdings, typically for a longer stretch than most PE companies hold their investments.

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