AFC Enterprises announced last month that it planned to sellChurch's, which was founded in 1952 in San Antonio, TX. Thecompany, which was formerly known asAmerica's Favorite Chicken Co.,sold Church's to focus on the Popeye's brand. It had owned since1992.

Currently, there are more than 1,500 Church's locations acrossthe globe including 283 company-owned units and 953 franchises inthe United States and an additional 300 restaurants in 15countries. Church's netted $900 million in sales last year.

Several real estate and restaurant facilities were excluded fromthe Crescent Capital acquisition and were sold to Church'sfranchisees for a total of $3.7 million. AFC Enterprises willrecord net proceeds, after tax considerations, of $275 million forthe sale. SunTrust Bank and Drawbridge Special Opportunities FundLP funded the deal. Crescent owns other retail ventures such asCaribou Coffee Co. and women's clothing chain Loehmann'sHoldings.