Oldest African-American Owned Business
Establishes Quick Service Restaurant Platform
Deerfield, IL & New York, NY, November 8, 2004 -- C.H. James Restaurant Holdings, LLC today announced that it has partnered with the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group to acquire 37 BURGER KING® restaurants. Charles H. “Chuck” James III will serve as Managing Owner and Chief Executive Officer of C.H. James Restaurant Holdings, an affiliate of C. H. James & Co, which is believed to be the oldest continually operating African-American owned business in the U.S. The transaction establishes C.H. James Restaurant Holdings as one of Burger King Corporation’s largest minority controlled franchisees and demonstrates Burger King Corporation’s commitment to its growing minority franchisee base.
“With Burger King Corporation’s positive momentum, this is an exciting time to be joining its franchisee community,” said James. “With our plans for future development, I am confident that we will see new jobs created and better relationships with minority vendors in the communities we serve. I’m looking forward to building upon the excellent base of restaurants we have acquired and working with this outstanding team of employees.”
“Burger King Corporation is pleased to welcome C.H. James Restaurant Holdings to the Burger King family of franchisees,” said Clyde Rucker, senior vice president, Burger King Corporation. “Chuck James is a proven food industry entrepreneur who has been deeply involved in the quick service restaurant industry for more than 20 years. He joins Burger King Corporation’s minority franchise partners and is one of the largest minority franchisees within the Burger King system.”
The transaction was completed with equity financing from Chuck James and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, and a bank facility provided by the Bank of America Restaurant Finance Group. C.H. James Restaurant Holdings now owns and operates 37 Burger King restaurants located in the greater Chicago area, making it the second largest Burger King franchisee in the region. The company employs over 1,400 people including many long-tenured restaurant managers under the prior owner, Sheldon T. Friedman. Mr. Friedman has been a successful Burger King franchisee for 26 years, having built and sustained a high performing base of restaurants.
“Last year we partnered with Chuck James to seek acquisition opportunities that would build upon his depth of experience and management expertise, and we’re pleased that the relationship has culminated with the acquisition of these Burger King franchises,” said Kevin Jordan, Managing Director of Goldman Sachs and Board Member of C.H. James Restaurant Holdings. “We look to build upon the model of partnering with an experienced entrepreneur like Chuck, to identify attractive acquisition opportunities.”
“The strong momentum at Burger King and Chuck James’s leadership make this an attractive investment opportunity,” said Martin Chavez, Vice President of Goldman Sachs and Board Member of C.H. James Restaurant Holdings. “We have an excellent team to capitalize on the positive investment fundamentals of the quick service restaurant industry.”
“This transaction represents a forward-looking business model that can enable minority businesses to continue to grow while remaining independent in a time of consolidation in many industries,” said Harriet Michel, President of the National Minority Supplier Development Council. C.H. James Restaurant Holdings is a certified Minority Owned Business by the NMSDC.
About C. H. James Restaurant Holdings:
C. H. James Restaurant Holdings, LLC is an affiliate of C. H. James & Co., which is believed to be the oldest continually operating African-American owned business in the U.S. The company was established in Charleston, WV in 1883 as a food distributor by C. H. James, the great-grandfather of Charles H. “Chuck” James III, the company’s current CEO. Named on numerous occasions to the Black Enterprise BE 100 listing, C. H. James has serviced a high profile and demanding roster of clients in the food service industry including McDonald’s, Yum! Brands, Darden Restaurant and Wendy’s. As an 8(a) contractor, the firm was recognized as a leading supplier to the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense and other government agencies. To learn more about The C. H. James Companies, please visit the company's website at www.chjamesco.com.
About Burger King Corporation:
The BURGER KING® system operates more than 11,200 restaurants in all 50 states and in 62 countries and territories around the world. Ninety percent of BURGER KING restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, many of them family-owned operations that have been in business for decades.
Burger King Holdings, Inc., the parent company, is private and independently owned by an equity sponsor group comprised of Texas Pacific Group, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. In fiscal year ending June 30, 2004, Burger King Corporation had system-wide sales of $11.1 billion. To learn more about Burger King, please visit the company’s website at www.burgerking.com.
About Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group:
The Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group is a private equity initiative within The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), that invests capital in ethnic minority-owned or targeted businesses and urban real estate. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. The firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world. Goldman Sachs also has offices in Chicago, Illinois, Dallas, Texas and Los Angeles, California. To learn more about the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, please visit: www.gs.com/uig.
| Chicago Area Burger King’s C. H. James Restaurant Holdings Chicago 6261 N. Lincoln, 773-588-1976 5211 S. Cicero, 773-585-5464 4514 W. Diversey, 773-202-8055 2838 W. North Ave., 773-276-8871 6950 S. Pulaski, 773-735-8724 6350 S. Cicero, 773-581-5521 Buffalo Grove 1515 W. Dundee Rd., 847-255-4020 80 McHenry Rd., 847-229-7983 Elk Grove Village 630 Meacham Rd., 847-985-0969 Evanston 1740 Orrington, 847-864-9199 1829 Dempster St., 847-733-8740 Glenview 1834 Waukegan Rd., 847-729-2754 Hoffman Estate 50 E. Higgins Rd., 847-843-3399 Lake Forest 950 N. Western Ave., 847-295-5080 Lake Zurich 642 S. Rand St., 847-540-0707 Libertyville 1326 S. Milwaukee Ave., 847-367-8969 1240 N. Milwaukee Ave., 847-362-8919 Lombard 545 W. North Ave., 630-629-7974 Maywood 49 W. Lake St., 708-345-1501 Mt. Prospect 1205 E. Central Ave., 847-699-6493 |
Mundelein 1520 S. Lake St., 847-566-6420 721 S. Midlothian, 847-970-7537 Naperville 1304 S. Naper Blvd., 630-637-1880 2040 Aurora Ave., 630-527-9931 Niles 7133 W. Dempster Ave., 847-965-4280 Prospect Height 580 Milwaukee Ave., 847-520-3010 Schaumburg 1015 S. Roselle Rd., 847-985-1150 Skokie 5315 W. Touhy Ave., 847-763-1889 Stickney 4851 S. Central, 708-458-1129 Roselle 920 W. Lake Ave., 630-671-9614 Wauconda 465 W. Naper Blvd., 847-526-3963 Waukegan 3215 N. Lewis Ave., 847-662-3575 3140 Belvidere Rd., 847-662-6700 Wheeling 425 W. Dundee Rd., 847-537-5540 Westmont 4 W. 63rd St., 630-719-9490 Wood Dale 309 W. Irving Park Rd., 630-227-1712 Zion 2213 Sheridan Rd., 847-872-6616 |
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