Krystal Co. Seeking Buyers For The 74-year-old Restaurant Chain

Lexington Herald:

The Krystal Co., the oldest fast-food chain in the South and the second oldest in the United States, is trying to find a buyer for the restaurant company.

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Krystal has hired Credit-Suisse First Boston Group to help market the 74-year-old privately held company to potential buyers, officials said Tuesday.

Company spokesman Brian Cooley said in a statement that Krystal “is currently providing information� to interested parties.

“We are still in the preliminary stages of the process and cannot comment further at this time,� he said.

The chain has been owned for the past decade by a group of Tennessee investors, who took the company private in a $108 million buyout in 1997 but now want to capitalize on a strong market for restaurants.

There have been at least 27 acquisitions of restaurant businesses by private equity firms since the beginning of 2005.

Founded in 1932, Krystal was begun by R.B. Davenport Jr. and J. Glenn Sherrill, whose families continued to own the business until it went public in 1992.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Vice President Phillip H. Sanford bought Krystal in 1997 with the help of former Coca-Cola Enterprises Chairman Summerfield Johnston Jr., the Probasco and Ingram families and other investors.

Sanford left the company in August 2003, and Krystal since has been headed by Fred Exum, who previously managed Wendy’s franchise restaurants across the country.