The Smartest Guys In The Room Enter Franchising

TheFranchiseHound:

Goldman Sachs is arguably the most prestigious investment bank in the world. Much of their money is made not in their traditional investment banking business but in their alternative investment vehicles. They have their hands in just about everything including Facebook and now are attempting to enter the world of franchising. Why not? After all, franchises are cash flow generators. The Wall Street Journal reported that Goldman’s private equity arm is near a deal to buy the largest Applebee’s franchisee in the US. The article further states that the asking price is in the range of ‘several hundred millions of dollars.’

Apple American, currently owned by Weston Presidio (another private equity firm), has 269 restaurants in 11 states, 16,000 employees and 2010 sales of $665 million. Weston Presidio has owned the units since 2005.

Private equity has been quite active in the small business space, particularly the franchise space. Continue reading this post.

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