New York-based Pearl Street Equity acquired Famous Brands International’s franchising business, the parent company of Mrs. Fields and TCBY. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition follows the recent appointment of Joe Lewis as president and chief operating officer of Famous Brands Franchising.
New York-based Burger Barn acquired seven Burger Kings in the Northeast. Bonnie Hemrajani has been the CEO of Burger Barn, a Burger King franchisee, since 2021. Unbridled Capital provided sell-side advisory services to New King Inc.
Princeton Equity Group made a majority investment in hydraulic hose repair brand Pirtek.
VMG bought Crunch Fitness franchisee Undefeated Tribe.
Primanti Bros. parent company Authentic Restaurant Brands finalized its purchase of Pollo Tropical.
Franchise Equity Partners acquired Rapp Operations, a Neighborly franchise operator with three Precision Garage Door Service locations.
Big Rock Brands bought Fish Consulting, which is a “fantastic strategic fit” for Big Rock Brands, said Michael Kessler of the newest addition to the private equity-owned holding company he launched in 2020.
Transworld Business Advisors franchisees Al and Jessica Fialkovich of West Palm Beach, Florida, expanded operations after acquiring an existing location from Dave Santella in East Las Vegas. The couple’s transaction increases their portfolio of Transworlds to more than 32 offices employing 50-plus business brokers. In August, the couple acquired Colorado Business Exchange from Jim DeShayes. Al Fialkovich is president of The Prospere Companies and Jessica Fialkovich chairs the board and manages all partner relations for the firm. Prospere is an investment group that owns and manages companies involved in business brokerage and mergers and acquisitions. They are the operators of 32 locations of the Transworld Business Advisors franchise brand in Colorado, Nevada and Texas. Earlier this year, they purchased eight investment offices in East Dallas, Waco and Austin, Texas. They opened their first Transworld location 10 years ago in Colorado.
Barre3, a Portland, Oregon-based fitness company, acquired The Barre Code. The Barre Code was founded by Jillian Lorenz and Ariana Chern in 2010. Barre3, founded in 2008 by Sadie and Chris Lincoln, has 185 studios and a digital platform with subscribers in more than 100 countries.
Airbrush tanning brand Pure Glow raised $1.4 million in seed funding, which it will use to start franchising. Pure Glow aims to expand in New England and Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Dallas, Phoenix and Miami. Lauren Rampello Becotte, the founder and chief creative officer for the airbrush tanning concept, opened two Boston locations starting in 2015. The brand uses organic ingredients in its spray tan formula, which Rampello Becotte says doesn’t have the bad smell a fake tan is known for.
Palm Harbor, Florida-based Office Pride Commercial Cleaning Services purchased two Budget Janitorial locations, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Douglas, Wyoming, to convert to corporate units. This is Office Pride’s third corporate acquisition in the year since the franchise announced it would accelerate growth through mergers and acquisitions.
Atlanta-based Chicken Salad Chick acquired local bakery Piece of Cake with plans to bring the bakery's cakes to its restaurants. As part of the deal, all of Chicken Salad Chick’s 245 restaurants in 18 states will feature Piece of Cake as its signature dessert. Piece of Cake’s 10 Atlanta-area bakeries will continue business as usual.
Potbelly completed a 40-unit agreement with Royal Restaurant Group, which includes the acquisition of four existing stores. The agreement involves the development of 36 new Potbelly shops in Ohio and Florida and refranchising four locations in the greater Columbus, Ohio, region. Founded earlier this year, the Royal Restaurant Group operates 24 Burger King restaurants in the Jacksonville, Florida, metropolitan area.
My Salon Suite acquired six Cirque Salon Studios in Charleston, South Carolina. The deal marks the second major acquisition in less than two months for the company following the recent acquisition of six salons in Reno, Nevada. The Charleston salons, which will rebrand as corporate My Salon Suite locations, join two existing brand locations in the area to bring the My Salon Suite footprint in the market to eight salons. The brand acquired 12 independent salons so far this year.
Brentwood Associates, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, and Sixth Street, a global investment firm headquartered in San Francisco, recently completed what is being described as a “significant growth investment” in Wingstop franchisee Far West Services.
Brentwood has invested more than $7 billion in 50-plus portfolio companies since 1984. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, Far West operates more than 100 Wingstop locations in California, Nevada, Washington, Colorado and Utah. Far West CEO Jorge Ortiz will continue to lead the company alongside chair, founder and brand ambassador Danny Sonenshine. Sixth Street is a global investment firm with more than $70 billion in assets under management and committed capital.
Jennifer Paillon and Jeff Jones added to their MassageLuxe portfolio by acquiring an existing location in Novi, Michigan. The new franchisees completed the deal while building their new Farmington, Michigan, spa. Paillon is a lawyer and Jones is an IT contractor. They plan to hire 18 employees for their two MassageLuxe locations. Founded in 2008 in St. Louis, MassageLuXe has more than 80 locations across 22 states.
Adam Oswalt opened a Minuteman Press franchise in Springfield, Ohio, after purchasing Armstrong Printing. Oswalt, who worked as global product manager for Select Sires for 15 years, bought Armstrong Printing from Carol McCoy, who was involved with the brand for more than 40 years and owned the business for the last four years.
Sylvan Learning transferred ownership of its Fairlawn, Ohio, center to former middle-school teacher Krystle Nichols. Founded more than 40 years ago, Sylvan Learning has 700-plus locations.
