Financing

Roark Capital raises another $6.5B

The restaurant-heavy private-equity firm completed fundraising for two new funds.
Photograph courtesy of Arby's

It’s safe to say that Roark Capital isn’t done making acquisitions.

The Atlanta-based private-equity firm, which has acquired 65 multiunit brands since its creation, many of them restaurants, said on Wednesday that it has completed another $6.5 billion in fundraising for a pair of funds.

Both funds easily bested the firm’s targets. Roark Capital Partners V LP, the firm’s main fund, closed on $5 billion in capital commitments after targeting a fundraise of $4 billion.

A second, smaller fund, Sidecar Fund, targeted $1 billion and completed $1.5 billion in capital commitments.

“We are enormously grateful for the continuing support of our longstanding partners and are excited to welcome new partner relationships to the Roark family,” Neal Aronson, founder and managing partner at Roark, said in a statement.

Paul Ginsburg, Roark’s president, said both funds “are important milestones” for the firm and provide Roark with capital “to continue to execute our strategy on behalf of investors.”

Roark is one of the largest and most frequent investors in the restaurant space, and its investments have helped fuel numerous acquisitions. It’s the owner of Inspire Brands, which operates Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and soon Sonic Corp., which it plans to buy for $2.3 billion.

The firm also owns Focus Brands, which this year bought Jamba Juice to add to its roster of restaurants that includes Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, Moe’s Southwest Grill and Schlotzsky’s. It also owns Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. and Jimmy John’s, among others.

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