McDonald’s to Sell Boston Market

Sun Capital Partners will acquire the home-meal-alternative chain.

By Scott Hume, Executive Managing Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 8/6/2007

Completing its corporate goal of focusing its resources solely on the McDonald’s brand, Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald’s Corp. today announced that it expects to close on the sale of its Boston Market chain to investment firm Sun Capital Partners within the next few weeks. Terms of the deal were not announced.

Golden, Colo.-based Boston Market has 630 locations; 2006 systemwide sales are estimated at $680 million in R&I’s Top 400 Chains report. McDonald’s acquired the chain in 2000 for $173.5 million, according to published reports.

McDonald’s last year spun off its highly successful Chipotle fast-casual Mexican chain as a separate, Denver-based company (in which it retains a minority ownership).

Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sun Capital Partners has been an active investor in the restaurant business. In March of this year, it acquired Seattle-based Restaurants Unlimited Inc., which operates the Kincaid’s Fish, Chop & Steak House and Palomino Restaurant Rotisseria Bar chains as well as other, smaller concepts. In June 2007, Sun Capital Partners acquired the Wilbraham, Mass.-based Friendly’s family chain. Other Sun Capital holdings are Burlington, Vt.-based Bruegger’s bagel shops and San Diego-based Garden Fresh Holdings, parent of the Souplantation and Sweet tomatoes salad concepts.