SPB Hospitality has officially added J. Alexander's Holdings to its stable of casual restaurant brands.
J. Alexander's shareholders on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the acquisition of the 47-unit polished-casual brand and its sister concepts in a deal valued at $220 million. Shareholders received $14 in cash per share in the transaction that takes the Nashville-based company private.
SPB CEO Jim Mazany called the deal "a game-changer" for the company, which adds five brands—J. Alexander's, Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill, Redlands Grill, Overland Park Grill and Merus Grill—to its existing group that includes Logan’s Roadhouse, Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom, Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery and Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant.
Houston-based SPB operates and franchises hundreds of restaurants and breweries across 38 states and Washington, D.C.
The sale is the culmination of a strategic review at J. Alexander's that began in August 2019, continued into 2020 and was then suspended by the pandemic, only to be resumed this year. The two companies agreed to terms in early July in the midst of a wave of restaurant consolidation coming out of the pandemic.
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