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A&W Restaurants transaction complete

December 26, 2011

A&W Restaurants Inc. has officially been acquired by A Great American Brand LLC, a partnership of domestic and international A&W Restaurant franchisees, from Louisville, Ky.-based Yum! Brands Inc.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

A&W's new headquarters will be located in Lexington, Ky.

"Our new owners, our franchisees, truly believe that A&W can profitably grow sales by focusing our unique positioning in the QSR industry based on our heritage, service and product quality," said Kevin Bazner, A&W CEO. "We know we can effectively compete in QSR with our relevant line of burgers, sandwiches, desserts and of course our unique signature made-fresh A&W Draft Root Beer."

According to Bazner, many A&W Restaurant key support staff were retained under the new ownership.

"We have a team of owners and support staff who share a common goal of growing this famous brand," he said.

The new ownership team will support all existing A&W single and multibrand locations. There are currently about 1,200 restaurants, including 350 international stores in 15 countries.

A&W was founded in 1919 and is the oldest QSR company in the world.

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