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Darden Restaurants angling for Bonefish?
Jul 12th, 2007
Darden Restaurants angling for Bonefish?
Even before Darden Restaurants Inc., the owner of Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains, announced a restructuring last month, Dealscape suggested it could be an acquirer or a target for buyout firms. Now, The Associated Press has caught on to the story, and it suggests that the Orlando, Fla., company is considering buying another chain, specifically Bonefish Grill.
A number of factors give the AP story some credence. For starters, Bonefish is the smaller sibling of Outback Steakhouse, whose parent OSI Restaurant Partners Inc. was taken private in a $3.5 billion buyout last month. Some industry observers believe that OSI's new owners, Bain Capital Partners LLC and Catterton Management Co. LLC, will sell Bonefish, a seafood chain that is more upscale than Red Lobster. Considering Red Lobster and Olive Garden use many of the same ingredients — about a quarter of all entrees at the Italian chain are seafood — Bonefish would offer Darden the same synergies.
Although most people know Darden for its largest chains Olive Garden and Red Lobster, upscale eateries are familiar territory for the company, which also operates Seasons 52 and Bahama Breezes, two chains that cater to customers who usually have $100,000 annual income, according to the AP story. —Matthew Wurtzel