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Sun Capital affiliate sells Captain D's amidst turnaround

October 15, 2013

Sun Capital Partners Inc., a private investment firm specializing in leveraged buyouts and investments, today announced that an affiliate has signed an agreement to sell its investment in Captain D's Seafood Restaurant to Centre Partners, a middle market private equity firm.

Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Captain D's owns, operates and franchises 527 restaurants in 25 states and on military bases around the world.

Prior to acquisition, Captain D's experienced several years of declining comparable store sales. Since Sun Capital affiliate's acquisition, a new management team was brought on board under the leadership of CEO Phil Greifeld and a turnaround plan was put into place. The company revamped its restaurant design, added new menu items including a grilled seafood platform, increased marketing and more. Captain D's has since experienced 27 consecutive periods of systemwide comp sales growth.

Building on this turnaround, the chain has recently begun expanding its franchise locations.

"We are extremely proud of the transformation and revitalization of Captain D's," said Marc Leder, co-CEO at Sun Capital. "We're confident that the combination of operational improvements and customer-focused solutions that have been achieved over the past three years will enable the business to continue to build on its strong market position."

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