The Cypress Group acted as exclusive advisor to Antsul Group, LLC in the valuation and sale of its New Jersey and New York Buffalo Wild Wings business and related real estate.

“I want to thank Dean Zuccarello and the entire Cypress team advising us on the sale of our Buffalo Wild Wing restaurants, operations, and Real Estate in the New Jersey/New York Metropolitan area. Their industry experience, expertise, and guidance throughout this journey were invaluable. They led us through a period of time where BWW was acquired by Inspire Brands, to the repositioning of the BWW brand, to the uncertainty of COVID, to the successful rebound of business coming out of COVID. What I most appreciated about Dean was even though we were a smaller to mid-sized operation, he treated us as if we were as important of some of the biggest clients that he supported over the years. He was always accessible to myself, my team, and our Board of Directors. His direction and advice throughout the process was spot on. Without his and the Cypress team's guidance, we wouldn't have achieved such a successful outcome. The Cypress Group is truly top of the line in valuation, buyer identification, and negotiation, and we would highly recommend them to anyone.”

- Steve Sullivan, Owner, Antsul Group

Cypress provided strategic guidance, valuation services, identification of potential buyers, and deal negotiation.

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The Cypress Group acted as QSR M&A Advisor to NPC International in the Chapter 11 sale of its Wendy's and Pizza Hut businesses for $801 million. This transaction involved the sale of over 1,300 Wendy's and Pizza Hut locations across 27 states, making it one of the largest franchisee sale transactions on record.

Cypress CEO Dean Zuccarello sat down with Mary Jo Larson of the Restaurant Finance Monitor and Eddy Goldberg of the Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine to discuss our experience in facilitating what has been called the "Deal of the Decade" by industry professionals.

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The Cypress Group acted as sell-side exclusive advisor to Hallrich, Inc., one of the longest standing Pizza Hut franchisees in the system, in connection with the sale of its business and real estate operations. The restaurants were acquired by affiliates of Manna, Inc., a new Pizza Hut franchisee.

"Bill Pabst and The Cypress Group understood our situation, team, and motivations. We felt our CIM, Model, and work product was head and shoulders above other advisors. Bill and Cypress were able to bring bigger buyers into the process, and certain buyers indicated they would not be there without Bill's relationship and style. Their connections within M&A circles brough us additional critical expertise."

- Scott Arbuthnot, President, Hallrich, Inc.

Cypress provided strategic guidance, valuation services, identification of potential buyers, and deal negotiation.

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The Cypress Group acted as exclusive advisor to Arbico and its affiliate in the valuation and sale of its 15 restaurant Arby's business and 8 related fee-owned properties. Arbico sold to AES Tri-State, a subsidiary of 77-unit Arby's franchisee AES Restaurant Group. Cypress provided Arbico with strategic guidance, valuation, deal structuring, and negotiation services.

Owned by Don Shawl, Jeff Shawl, and Chris Smith, Arbico has been in the Arby's system for 40 years in the Tri-Cities, Tennessee, and Southwest Virginia markets. Arbico was a multi-year winner of the Arby's Inspiring Smiles Award along with numerous other service and community involvement awards.

"We'd like to thank Dan Collins for his excellent guidance and comprehensive involvement throughout this process. We've had many discussions with Dan over the years and knew he was the right choice to lead us through the sale process. We're extremely pleased with the advice, integrity, and results provided by Dan and Cypress. We would recommend them to any organization that is exploring options to maximize the value of their business."

- Jeff Shawl, Co-President & Owner, Arbico

Cypress provided strategic guidance, valuation services, identification of potential buyers, and deal negotiation.

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The Cypress Group (“Cypress”) served as Exclusive M&A Advisor to United States Beef Corporation (“US Beef”) in the sale of its Arby’s business and related real estate to RB American Group, LLC (“RB American”), an affiliate of Flynn Restaurant Group, LLC (“FRG”). This transaction involved the sale of 368 Arby’s locations in nine states in the Midwest and Northwest United States, making it one of the largest franchisee sale transactions on record.

US Beef, founded in 1969 by the Davis family and based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was the largest Arby’s franchisee and a longtime system leader prior to its sale to FRG. It was ranked No. 21 on Franchise Times’ 2018 Top 200 List of Restaurant Operators.

FRG was ranked No. 1 on Franchise Times’ 2018 Top 200. With the acquisition of US Beef, FRG becomes Arby’s largest franchisee, now operating over 1,200 restaurants in four national brands, and is one of the Top 20 foodservice companies in the United States.

Cypress provided strategic guidance, valuation services, identification of potential buyers, and deal term structuring and negotiation for US Beef Corporation.

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The Cypress Group served as exclusive advisor to Wendy’s Restaurants of Rochester, Wendy’s of Ft. Wayne, Western Reserve Restaurant Management, Wendy’s of Lorain, CC Restaurant Management, and Great Lakes Restaurant Management in the sale of 113 Wendy’s restaurants. The restaurants were sold as 5 markets: Rochester, Buffalo, Albany, Ohio, and Indiana.

Cypress provided strategic guidance, valuation services, identification of potential buyers, and deal negotiation.

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The Cypress Group served as exclusive advisor to Southeast Restaurant Group in the acquisition of the corporately-owned Taco Bell restaurants, related real estate, and development rights in the New Orleans metropolitan area.

SRG, in combination with its sister company, KFK Group, currently operate restaurants, hotels, and other real estate ventures in seven states with hallmark brands such as Westin, Holiday Inn, TGI Friday’s, and now Taco Bell. The purchase of the Taco Bell assets marks SRG's initial expansion into the QSR segment.

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The Cypress Group served as exclusive advisor to Brodersen Enterprises in the valuation and sale of its Popeyes restaurants located in Illinois and Wisconsin to HZ Ops Holdings, Inc.

Brodersen Management sold 19 Popeyes restaurants in this transaction, while retaining all 19 of the related fee-owned properties. However, Brodersen Enterprises plans to continue its expansion in Puerto Rico and is actively seeking financing.

“I hired Cypress to analyze all of my business holdings, and I can honestly say that I made the right choice in doing so. I'm extremely grateful for all of the hard work Cypress and Bill have put in thus far and continue to put into my situation. I have been very pleased with the overall professionalism, analytics, and strategic guidance of Bill Pabst and the rest of the Cypress team. I'm also glad that I have them on my side moving forward with my Detroit Popeyes restaurants. I have no doubt that once again Bill and Cypress will get this done with impressive results.”

- John Brodersen, Brodersen Enterprises Founder & CEO

Cypress provided strategic guidance, valuation services, identification of potential buyers, and deal structuring and negotiation for Brodersen Enterprises.

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The Cypress Group served as exclusive advisor to Fries Restaurant Management in the valuation and sale of its 49 Burger King restaurants located in Texas to Shonaz Foods.

Cypress provided strategic guidance, valuation services, identification of potential buyers, and deal structuring and negotiation for Fries Restaurant Management.

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The Cypress Group served as exclusive advisor to SERVUS! in the valuation and sale of its 20 Denny's restaurants located in Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky to Top Line Restaurants.

“Hiring Cypress to run a process to sell our Denny’s may be one of the best investments we have made. We were extremely pleased with the professionalism, analytics, and execution of Bill Pabst and the entire Cypress investment banking team. Bill’s energy and attention got us over the finish line with a first rate buyer. We have completed multiple deals with Cypress as an advisor, and every time we’ve been impressed with their work. I recommend Cypress and Bill Pabst to anyone.”

- Al Ruckriegel, President of SERVUS!

Cypress provided strategic guidance, valuation services, identification of potential buyers, and deal structuring and negotiation for SERVUS!

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The Cypress Group served as exclusive advisor to Del Taco in the refranchising of 18 restaurants located in California and Nevada. Del Taco has been executing a portfolio optimization strategy to help stimulate new franchise restaurant growth and to drive operational and financial benefits. These transactions mark the first market closures of the Company's broader refranchising program.

Related to these refranchising transactions, the acquirers have also committed to develop up to 31 additional Del Taco restaurants over the next decade in both new and existing markets for the brand. Del Taco is the second largest Mexican-American quick service restaurant chain by units in the United States.

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The Cypress Group served as exclusive advisor to Bridgeman Foods in the valuation and sale of its 38 Wendy's restaurants located in Florida to QFRM Holdings. This transaction marks the third and final divestiture of Wendy's restaurants by Bridgeman Foods this year, with the two preceding transactions having been for markets in the Southeast United States as well.

Based in Louisville, KY, Bridgeman Foods is one of the largest multi-brand franchisees in the country. The company continues to operate more than 150 Wendy's restaurants throughout the United States.

QFRM entered the Wendy's system 3 years ago, operating Wendy's restaurants in Indiana and Florida prior to this acquisition.

“The Cypress Group did a tremendous job advising us on the sale of our Wendy's restaurants in the Southeast United States. We truly appreciate all of the hard work that Bill Pabst and the Cypress team put into the complex, multi-transactional sale of our restaurants in three distinct markets. Bill’s expertise made a huge difference throughout the engagement, and without his and the Cypress team's guidance, we wouldn't have achieved such a successful outcome. The Cypress Group is truly top of the line in valuation, buyer identification, and negotiation, and we would highly recommend them to anyone.”

- Ryan Bridgeman, President of Bridgeman Foods

Cypress provided strategic guidance, valuation services, identification of potential buyers, and deal structuring and negotiation for Bridgeman Foods on all three of the Company's Wendy's divestitures this year.

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The Cypress Group served as exclusive advisor to Bentley-Miller Corporation in the valuation and sale of its 27 restaurant Arby's business to Quality Meats LLC, an affiliate of Quality Restaurant Group. Additionally, Cypress arranged simultaneous sale and leaseback transactions on Bentley-Miller's owned real property.

Based in Nebraska, Bentley-Miller operated Arby's in 5 states: Colorado, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. The purchase of these restaurants represents the entrance of Quality Restaurants into the Arby's system.

“I extend my sincerest gratitude to Dan and the entire Cypress team for a job well done. Successfully closing a transaction is far more complicated than finding a buyer and agreeing on price. Dan’s expertise made a huge difference in helping us navigate the ins and outs of the sale process. As with most transactions, we encountered some bumps in the road, but Dan and the team were instrumental in helping us resolve all issues to the satisfaction of Buyer and Seller. Carter and I want to thank Dan for all his advice – we wouldn’t have made it through the sale without his perspective and persistence. We are extremely pleased with Cypress’ performance and would highly recommend them to anyone in the restaurant industry.”

- Rick Bentley, Founder & CEO Bentley Miller Corporation

Cypress provided strategic guidance, valuation services, identification of potential buyers, and deal structuring and negotiation for Bentley-Miller Corporation.

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The Cypress Group served as exclusive advisor to PRG Ventures in the sale of its Burger King restaurants located in Birmingham, AL.

"This is the second time I have worked with Dean and Cypress, and once again I was incredibly grateful to have had the group in my corner. They played a crucial role in achieving a successful close, with Dean's expertise, professionalism & perseverance being second to none. Cypress' strategic guidance was imperative in negotiating favorable deal terms and achieving such strong results. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to sell their business."

- Chuck James, PRG Ventures Managing Owner

Cypress provided strategic guidance, valuation services, identification of potential buyers, and deal term structuring and negotiation for PRG.

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The Cypress Group is served as exclusive advisor to Wendy’s in the refranchising of approximately 540 Company restaurants across 15 markets in the United States.

These markets included Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, West Palm Beach, Springfield/Albany, Shreveport, Boston, Baton Rouge/Lafayette, Cincinnati, Charleston, Atlanta, New York, Raleigh-Durham, New Orleans, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, and Chicago.

Cypress provided strategic guidance, valuation services, identification of potential buyers, and deal negotiation for Wendy’s.

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The Cypress Group acted as exclusive advisor to RD Management, LLC in the valuation and sale of its Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Arby's business.

"The RD in our company's name stands for 'Realizing Dreams'. Dan Collins and the Cypress team helped me, and my longtime business partner Kathy Buschak, realize our retirement dreams after long and successful careers in the Arby's system. We couldn't be happier with the guidance, process, and results delivered by Cypress!"

- Doug Potter, Owner, RD Management

Cypress provided strategic guidance, valuation services, identification of potential buyers, and deal negotiation for RD Management.

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