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Canadian combo: Pinkberry owner buys Imvescor

MTY Food Group will buy another chain operator; the combined company will have 75 restaurant brands.

Serial restaurant chain acquirer MTY Food Group on Tuesday announced plans to merge with another Canadian brand operator, Imvescor Restaurant Group.

The deal is valued at $248 million Canadian dollars, and the combined company will operate 75 brands that have 5,700 locations.

This is the second deal in just the last month for MTY, a Montreal-based chain operator, following its November acquisition of the build-your-own burger chain The Counter. It’s also MTY’s sixth deal this year, most of which were acquisitions of Canadian brands.

Yet previous deals have also included the U.S.-based chain operator Kahala Brands, which operates Pinkberry, Cold Stone Creamery, Baja Fresh, Planet Smoothie and Blimpie Subs, among others.

Imvescor operates brands with 230 locations, including Pizza Delight, Scores, Baton Rouge Steakhouse & Bar, Ben & Florentine and Mike’s. Many of its locations have full service. The chains’ same-store sales increased 2.9% in the quarter ended July 30, when the company generated CA$13.3 million in revenue, according to Canadian securities filings.

“The combination of the two companies’ portfolios and expertise will produce tremendous opportunities for North American growth,” MTY Chairman Stanley Ma said in a statement. He said Imvescor’s full-service restaurants “will be highly complementary to our existing business.”

The combined company is expected to generate CA$2.9 billion in system sales and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, of CA$125-$130 million.

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