| Bojangles viewing La. restaurant sites
Chicken-and-biscuit restaurant chain Bojangles is contemplating an $80 million investment in Louisiana, with plans for up to 60 restaurants in the next five years. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company is a 30-year-old brand with 386 restaurants in 11 states — five locations are in Honduras and one in Mexico. None of its restaurants are located west of Alabama and Tennessee, and most are on the Eastern Seaboard. Bojangles’ Louisiana initiative coincides with a financial milestone: Last week, Falfurrias Capital Partners — a private equity firm — bought a controlling interest in the restaurant business. Falfurrias’ partners include former Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl Jr. and Carolina Panthers founder and President Jerry Richardson. In Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 list for 2007, Bojangles ranked as the No.
Canadian Pacific's $1.48B purchase of DM&E may cause headache for U.S. railways
CALGARY (CP) - Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (TSX:CP) is expanding in the U.S. Midwest by paying at least US$1.48 billion for the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp., a move that will help CPR extend its coal and agriculture transport businesses. "It complements what we do and creates a new footprint for growth," CEO Fred Green told a conference call Wednesday. DM&E's grain business complements CPR's C$1-billion grain franchise, the two companies' industrial products businesses have common products and customers and DM&E's "fast-growing ethanol business is one we've been seeking to participate in," Green said. The deal, announced late Tuesday, will have Canadian Pacific assume US$240 million of debt owed by DM&E.
Lone Star chain's new chief looks to revamp the restaurants
The once hard-charging Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon is searching for a way back to stronger growth and profitability. The Wichita-based steak chain sold last year for more than $600 million to a private equity firm after several years of shrinking margins and stagnant sales. New chief executive Marc Buehler plans to revive the chain by renovating its menus and restaurants. To fund the changes, he will need to find millions of dollars. "There's no question: The Lone Star concept is in turnaround mode," he said. Buehler joined Lone Star in July, sliding over from the chief executive's chair at Tony Roma's, another restaurant chain. He will work and live in Dallas, but most of the chain's executives and corporate staff will remain in Wichita.
|
