Chain restaurant veterans Doug Jacob, the co-founder of &pizza, and Sandy Beall, former CEO of Ruby Tuesday, are raising funds to acquire an existing "quick-serve" restaurant brand.
The pair formed a shell company called FAST Acquisition Corp. that hit public markets on Friday with the goal of raising at least $200 million for the purchase.
"We assimilate fast and I think we'll pick a good brand," Beall told Cheddar.
These kinds of special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) were once derided on Wall Street, but have recently become a more popular means of taking a company public.
"The credibility of SPACs has grown tremendously as you've seen in the market today," Jacob said. "It's speed to capital. It's price certainty."
The team's criteria include restaurants with "small dining rooms" that utilize "an alternative way to get cuisine to the customer." The use of third-party or native delivery is also a plus.
Jacob said the team chose now to make this acquisition because coronavirus has accelerated a number of trends in the restaurant industry that it hopes to benefit from.
"You're going to see real estate prices drop dramatically, probably the lowest real estate prices in the past decade," Jacob said. "So our ability to grow through this time, as opposed to growing out of leases, we think is going to be a huge benefit. Talent is also going to be available."
Both executives touted their experience managing public companies, but Jacob highlighted his experience running restaurant chains that employ technology in new ways.
"We're going to apply a lot of our knowledge in tech, both with off-the-shelf solutions as well as building our own tech stack," he said.
In addition to investments in real estate and tech, the team is aiming to help bolster the brand of whatever company it acquires to meet shifting consumer expectations.
"I don't think consumers are going to attach themselves to brands that don't have values that align with their values," Jacob said.
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
