The deal, which is subject to shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close late in the year. Champps had been looking for a buyer but had terminated its sale process in May before receiving an unsolicited proposal from F&H.
Champps appeared headed for a sale earlier in the year when, in January, the company entered into a letter of intent with Kinderhook Industries LLC to sell all of its assets to a new entity to be formed by Kinderhook. But that letter of intent expired in March after which Champps said that it had received feelers from a number of potential buyers, but none of those prospective deals came to fruition.
In this latest proposed sale, the largest shareholder in Champps, Atticus Capital, has entered into a voting agreement under which it has agreed to vote in favor of the deal. Atticus and other shareholders that are part of the agreement hold a combined 30% of the outstanding Champps common stock.
Champps reported a loss of $571,000 and four cents a share for the quarter that ended April 1, against a loss of $1.9 million and 15 cents per share in the comparable quarter the year before. The company's latest full-year results for the period that ended in July 2006 showed a loss of $1.5 million and 12 cents per share.
Champps owns and operates 49 units and franchises 12 restaurants in 21 states. Fox & Hound Restaurant Group operates 87 pub-themed restaurants in 25 states under the Fox & Hound and Bailey's Pub & Grille brand names. Parent company F&H is owned by Newcastle Partners, LP; Steel Partners II LP and the management of F&H.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.