News

Major Taco Bell franchisee sold on strong ROI

March 16, 2011

Stamford, Conn.-based Olympus Partners announced that it has sold K-Mac Holdings Corp. K-Mac, headquartered in Ft. Smith, Ark., is the third largest Taco Bell franchisee in the country, operating 167 Taco Bells, mainly in the Southwest.

New ownership details were not released. 

K-Mac also owns 23 total KFC and Golden Corral restaurants.

Olympus and management acquired K-Mac and its then-144 stores at the end of 2004. Since, the company has opened and/or acquired 46 restaurants and has expanded geographically in several other states. Cash flow has more than doubled since 2004, and employment has increased by 30 percent.

"K-Mac has been one of the most successful investments for Olympus, earning a return of more than eight times the initial equity funded by our investors. We were fortunate to back a very talented and seasoned management team supported by the strength of the Taco Bell brand, at a time when few private equity firms were comfortable investing in the franchisee space,” said Paul Rubin of Olympus Partners.

Founded in 1988, Olympus Partners is a private equity firm focused on providing equity capital for middle-market management buyouts and for companies needing capital for expansion. Olympus is a long-term investor across a broad range of industries, including healthcare services, financial services, consumer products, restaurants and business services.

Lyle Wilpon, James Rourke, James Patterson and Daniel Zarkowsky of Bank of America Merrill Lynch advised K-Mac and Olympus on the transaction.