The Greenwich private equity firm L Catterton has acquired Del Frisco”™s Restaurant Group Inc. in an all-cash transaction for approximately $650 million.
Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Del Frisco”™s portfolio includes two popular Fairfield County establishments, Barcelona Wine Bar and Bartaco, which Del Frisco”™s acquired in May 2018 for $325 million. L Catterton plans to run these businesses separately from the others acquired in the transaction, Del Frisco”™s Grille and Del Frisco”™s Double Eagle Steakhouse.
“At L Catterton, we bring more than just capital ”“ we bring significant operational expertise to our investments,” said Andrew Taub, managing partner at L Catterton. “Over the last 30 years, L Catterton has invested in nearly 30 restaurant concepts globally to create a number of industry leaders. Del Frisco”™s has four outstanding brands in two distinct and attractive categories ”“ upscale regionally-inspired cuisine, and steak and grill. We”™re excited to partner with the company to harness the power of these brands by operating the upscale regionally-inspired brands separately from the steak and grill concepts.”
However, the transaction has raised concern with four law firms over whether Del Frisco”™s Restaurant Group”™s board of directors ran afoul of their fiduciary duties in approving the transaction. The New York City law firms WeissLaw LLP and Rowley Law PLLC, along with the Milwaukee firm Ademi & O’Reilly LLP and the San Diego firm Johnson Fistel LLP, have each announced their own investigations into the acquisition and have made public calls to Del Frisco”™s shareholders seeking their input on whether they believed the acquisition price was too low.
