Posted on 06/17/2019 9:16:30 AM PDT by Red Badger
Fast-food chain Whataburger – beloved by generations of folks living in the Southeast – is now the property of a Chicago investment firm.
BDT Capital Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in San Antonio-based Whataburger, the companies announced Friday.
Financial terms of the deal were not released.
Whataburger will continue to be headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, and the groups will “begin exploring expansion plans,” according to a statement.
Whataburger’s founders, the Dobson family, will keep a minority ownership position in the company. President and CEO Preston Atkinson and board chairman Tom Dobson will keep their seats on the board, but will retire from daily operations.
The decision to sell the company “is both exciting and bittersweet” for the family, Tom Dobson said.
“Whataburger has been the heart and soul of our family legacy for nearly 70 years, but we feel really good about the partnership with BDT,” he said. “They have a track record of success with businesses as special as ours that want to grow, while preserving culture and family history. They are trusted advisors and partners who have worked closely with other family businesses and they have a tremendous reputation for doing the right thing.”
Ed Nelson, Whataburger’s chief financial officer and controller, will become the company’s president. Several other company executives are also being promoted.
Whatburger was founded by entrepreneur Harmon Dobson in 1950. According to the company’s website, Dobson had one goal in mind: “to serve a burger so big that it took two hands to hold, and so good that after a single bite customers couldn’t help but exclaim, ‘What a burger!’ He named his humble burger stand, located on Ayers Street in Corpus Christi, ‘Whataburger.’ ”
Today, Whataburger has more than 820 locations, with more than 670 of those in Texas. Whataburger’s other locations are in the South and Southwest, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Oklahoma. The company has more than 43,000 employees and has more than $2 billion in annual revenue, according to a company news release.
“Whataburger is an iconic brand and extraordinary company with an important legacy of family ownership, loyal customers, valuable community involvement, dedicated and talented employees, and a highly experienced management team,” Tiffany Hagge, managing director of BDT Capital Partners, said in a written statement. “We look forward to a long-term partnership with the Whataburger team, continuing their commitment to serving high-quality, great-tasting food at a value and delivering a superior customer experience. We are excited to support Whataburger as they continue to innovate and pursue accelerated growth in existing and new markets.”
The sale was not unexpected. Whataburger said last month that it had hired investment banking firm Morgan Stanley to help the company figure out how best to fuel its expansion.
“Whataburger has grown significantly over the years. And, in order to keep satisfying our customers, we’ve been exploring different options to expand the brand and introduce it to new audiences,” Atkinson said. “We’ve gone through this process purposefully and diligently because we wanted to find a partner who honors our values, culture and 69-year legacy of family tradition.”
Byron Trott, the “BDT” of the company name, is a very shrewd financier who intentionally flies below the radar and courts billionaire deals. He helped M&M Mars buy Wrigley and then bought the iconic Wrigley building. Last year BDT handled the acquisition of 7UP-Snapple by Keurig, along with Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee Co., Stumptown Coffee, and Keurig Green Mountain and Panera Bread, which most consumers don’t even know about.
So this is high-profile deal for the premier investment bank in the food/beverage industry and they certainly are not investing in order to wreck some Texans favorite burger joint.
So much for Whataburger....I’ll be hopeful though.
Thank God we got In N Out here in Texas now.
I hope.
GOOD!! I’m boycotting them until they put chorizo back on the menu -——— but if my bride happens to bring an extra burger home?
It must not have been a big seller.
Not everybody likes chorizo............
The memes on this have been glorious.
“When we said come & take it, we meant the cannon, not this.”
“The devil went down to Texas. He was lookin for a soul to steal.”
“Dear Chicago: If you hurt her, I will kill you.”
Now to be run by a bean counter.
A Texas Tradition will not become just another tasteless fast food place.
A burger wrapped in paper with real grease on it and a real malt will become a thing of the past.
We have all those except Jack. We had one 40 years ago, but it went away............
I was referring to Paladin2’s constant reference to Boeng’s relocation to Chicago as the starting point for all its current scandals. Didn’t realize moving there lowered fast food quality too. What a shame.
I have been to TX twice and quite enjoyed WhataBurger! And fast food in general in the south or TX is an experience in and of itself for me...being from L.A. and all. I found the service to be nicer than L.A. even at fast food places. Must be a southern hospitality thing. Over here one gets charged for extra ketchup! (Slightly exaggerating but that is the direction we are heading.)
We Californians we boast of In and Out...which is...ok..
Well at least we still have Shiner Bock, for now.
Wow...what a bunch of sourpuss Freepers on this thread...
When I lived in Texas I loved their burgers...huge tasty and good...
Doubt very much a lot will change...
We have one in Niceville Florida and I love their fries, but I can’t taste their meat.
J.J. Watt is calling on fans to buy back Whataburger. The Texas governor is on board
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/15/business/whataburger-jj-watt-texas-trnd/index.html
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