Bankrupt Italian chain Buca di Beppo has a potential buyer.
The Orlando-based casual-dining brand has selected an existing lender, private-equity firm Main Street Capital, as the stalking-horse bidder in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, meaning Main Street was able to set the starting bid for Buca di Beppo.
The firm is offering a $27 million credit bid that would give the company ownership of effectively all of Buca di Beppo’s assets, according to bankruptcy documents filed this week.
Other interested parties have until Oct. 2 to submit competing bids, and an auction is set for Oct. 7 if necessary.
Main Street is also providing $36.3 million in debtor-in-possession financing to help Buca di Beppo continue operating during the bankruptcy process. That’s made up of $12.1 million in new loans and $24.2 million in roll-up loans, or repayment of some of Buca di Beppo’s pre-bankruptcy debt.
Houston-based Main Street has investments in a variety of industries including a few regional restaurant chains: Allen, Texas-based Cafe Brazil; Phoenix-based New York Pizza Department; and Nashville-based Tin Roof.
If it wins the bidding for Buca di Beppo, that would become its largest restaurant holding with 44 locations and more than $172 million in sales last year.
Buca di Beppo filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 4, citing the lingering impacts of the pandemic on its business.
The chain is known for its over-the-top take on Italian-American “red sauce joints.”
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