Restaurateur Larry Levy Assumes Chairmanship of Del Taco
Patrick Walsh and Eileen Aptman Selected as Director Nominees of
Post-Merger Company
LAKE FOREST, Calif. & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Del Taco Holdings, Inc. (“Del Taco” or the “Company”) and Levy
Acquisition Corp. (“LAC”) (NASDAQ CM:LEVY, LEVYW, and LEVYU) announced
today that Del Taco has closed its previously announced
recapitalization, in advance of the planned acquisition of the Company
by LAC. Restaurateur Larry Levy, the CEO and Chairman of the Board of
LAC, together with his family and a group of new investors have made a
private investment of $120 million in the common stock of Del Taco and
now own approximately 46% of Del Taco. Mr. Levy has assumed the
Chairmanship of Del Taco while Ari Levy and Steve Florsheim, both
officers and directors of LAC, have also joined the Del Taco Board of
Directors.
With the completion of the recapitalization, Del Taco has eliminated its
subordinated debt and reduced its total debt along with the associated
cost of borrowing.
Paul J.B. Murphy, III, President and Chief Executive Officer of Del
Taco, commented, “The recapitalization has strengthened Del Taco
financially by significantly deleveraging our Company; I am delighted
that this contributed to our recent credit rating upgrades from Moody’s
Investor Service and Standard & Poor’s. With the infusion of new
capital, we are well positioned to accelerate the expansion of our brand
and make the necessary investments to support our accelerating same
store sales growth.”
The Company’s recapitalization represents the completion of the first
step of a two-step process in the merger of a subsidiary of LAC with and
into Del Taco, which is expected to be completed in June 2015. In
anticipation of that merger, LAC today announced that Patrick Walsh and
Eileen A. Aptman would be joining its Board of Directors upon closure of
the merger.
Mr. Walsh has a history of involvement in successful investments in
publicly traded restaurants including Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.
(NASDAQ: RRGB) and Denny’s Corporation (NASDAQ: DENN). He currently
serves as a director of Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. (NASDAQ: DAVE)
and BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: BJRI). He also operates PW Partners,
LLC an affiliate of one of the larger investors assembled by Larry Levy
to complete the recapitalization of Del Taco.
Ms. Aptman is the Chief Investment Officer of Belfer Management, LLC
(“Belfer”) and has served as a director and audit committee member of
public and private companies. Affiliates of Belfer are also part of the
investors assembled to fund the recapitalization.
Larry Levy, chairman of Del Taco and LAC, added, “We are very pleased
that Patrick Walsh and Eileen Aptman will be joining our Board following
the merger. They each have experience working with publicly traded
restaurant companies and we will benefit from their insights and advice.
Their support has been instrumental in positioning LAC for the
acquisition of Del Taco this spring.”
About Levy Acquisition Corp.
Levy Acquisition Corp. is a blank check company formed in October 2013
for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset
acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business
combination. In November 2013, LAC consummated its initial public
offering of 15 million units, each unit consisting of one share of
common stock and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles
the holder thereof to purchase one share of common stock at a price of
$11.50 per share. Aggregate proceeds of $150,000,000 from the IPO were
placed in trust pending completion of LAC’s initial business
combination. On March 12, 2015, LAC announced it had entered into a
definitive merger agreement through which it would acquire Del Taco
following a shareholder vote likely to take place in June.
For more information, please visit www.levyacquisitioncorp.com.
About Del Taco Holdings, Inc.
The Del Taco brand was founded in Southern California in 1964. By 1978,
Del Taco had opened its 100th location and reached 5 states.
Del Taco and its franchisees now operate approximately 550 restaurants
in 16 states, serving more than 3 million guests each week. Del Taco
owns just over 300 of the stores in its system with the balance owned
and operated by franchisees.
At Del Taco, menu items are made to order with fresh ingredients,
including Cheddar cheese grated from 40-pound blocks, handmade pico de
gallo salsa, lard-free beans slow-cooked from scratch, and marinated
chicken grilled in the restaurant. The menu includes classic Mexican
dishes such as tacos, burritos, quesadillas and nachos as well as
American favorites including hamburgers, crinkle-cut fries and shakes.
In 2014, Del Taco celebrated its 50th anniversary and recently launched
the UnFreshing Believable® campaign to communicate the lengths the
company goes to in order to deliver quality, made-to-order menu items
created with freshly-prepared ingredients.
For more information, please visit www.deltaco.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
In addition to historical information, this release may contain a number
of “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include
information concerning Del Taco’s possible or assumed future results of
operations, business strategies, competitive position, industry
environment, potential growth opportunities and the effects of
regulation. These statements are based on LAC’s or Del Taco’s
management’s current expectations and beliefs, as well as a number of
assumptions concerning future events. When used in this press release,
the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “anticipates,”
“forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,”
“should,” “future,” “propose” and variations of these words or similar
expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking
statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties,
assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside LAC’s
or Del Taco’s management’s control that could cause actual results to
differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking
statements. These risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important
factors include, but are not limited to, (1) the occurrence of any
event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the
termination of the Agreement and Plan of Merger for the proposed
business combination (the "Business Combination Agreement"); (2) the
inability to complete the transactions contemplated by the Business
Combination Agreement due to the failure to obtain approval of the
stockholders of LAC or other conditions to closing in the Business
Combination Agreement; (3) the ability to meet NASDAQ’s listing
standards following the Merger; (4) the risk that the proposed
transaction disrupts current plans and operations of Del Taco as a
result of the announcement and consummation of the transactions
described herein; (5) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits
of the proposed business combination, which may be affected by, among
other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow
and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with suppliers and
retain its management and key employees; (6) costs related to the
proposed business combination; (7) changes in applicable laws or
regulations; and (8) the possibility that Del Taco may be adversely
affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors.
Forward-looking statements included in this release speak only as of the
date of this release. Neither LAC nor Del Taco undertakes any obligation
to update its forward-looking statements to reflect events or
circumstances after the date of this release. Additional risks and
uncertainties are identified and discussed in LAC’s reports filed with
the SEC and available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov
and the Company’s website at www.levyacquisitioncorp.com.
Additional Information about the Merger and Where to Find It
LAC intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a
preliminary proxy statement of Levy Acquisition Corp. in connection with
the proposed business combination and will mail a definitive proxy
statement and other relevant documents to its stockholders. This press
release does not contain all the information that should be considered
concerning the business combination. It is not intended to provide the
basis for any investment decision or any other decision in respect to
the proposed business combination. LAC stockholders and other interested
persons are advised to read, when available, the preliminary proxy
statement, the amendments thereto, and the definitive proxy statement in
connection with LAC’s solicitation of proxies for the special meeting to
be held to approve the business combination, as these materials will
contain important information about Del Taco Holdings, Inc. and Levy
Acquisition Corp. and the proposed business combination. The definitive
proxy statement will be mailed to stockholders of Levy Acquisition Corp.
as of a record date to be established for voting on the business
combination. Stockholders will also be able to obtain copies of the
proxy statement, without charge, once available, at the SEC's Internet
site at http://www.sec.gov,
or by directing a request to: Levy Acquisition Corp., 444 North Michigan
Avenue, Suite 3500, Chicago, IL 60611, attention: Sophia Stratton.
Participants in the Solicitation
Levy Acquisition Corp. and its directors and officers may be deemed
participants in the solicitation of proxies to LAC’s stockholders with
respect to the transaction. A list of the names of those directors and
officers and a description of their interests in LAC is contained in
LAC’s proxy statement that was filed with the SEC on November 21, 2014,
and will also be contained in the proxy statement for the proposed
business combination when available.
Source: Levy Acquisition Corp.