Bob Evans Farms, Inc. Announces Agreement To Sell Mimi's Cafe

Bob Evans Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ: BOBE) ("Bob Evans") announced it had entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of its Mimi's Cafe restaurant chain to LeDuff America, Inc. ("LDA") .   

Mimi's Cafe is a French-inspired casual dining restaurant with 145 locations in 24 states, primarily in the West and Southwest.  LDA, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, owns and operates an extensive collection of cafe-bakeries, coffee houses, boulangeries and related manufacturing in North America. The current LDA restaurant portfolio consists of La Madeleine Country French Cafe, Brioche Doree, Bruegger's Bagels, Timothy's Coffee and Michel's Baguette. LeDuff America is a US based subsidiary of Groupe LeDuff SA, a global bakery and restaurant company headquartered in Rennes, France. 

The purchase price for the transaction is $50.0 million, consisting of $20.0 million in cash and a note for $30.0 million, subject to customary purchase price allocations and adjustments as of closing.  The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed within the next 45 days.

Bob Evans Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Davis said, "This transaction is a positive development for Bob Evans as well as for Mimi's Cafe.  After closing the sale, Bob Evans will have reset itself to better focus efforts and investments on achieving our long-term commitment to grow earnings per share 8% to 12% annually.  The agreement with LeDuff America reflects the review of strategic alternatives for Mimi's Cafe that was announced in November 2012 which included a careful and diligent process to find a buyer for Mimi's Cafe that would provide value for Bob Evans shareholders and a good strategic fit to support the long-term growth potential of Mimi's Cafe."

Davis continued, "Through our strategic planning process, we determined that a dedicated focus on driving profitable growth within our Bob Evans Restaurant and Bob Evans Foods business segments was our best course of action.  Successful growth initiatives at Bob Evans Restaurants, such as the Farm Fresh Refresh remodeling program and geographic expansion through new restaurant openings; and product innovations at Bob Evans Foods, particularly within the refrigerated side dish, sausage, foodservice, and frozen foods businesses, are early examples of what this organization is capable of when it focuses on profitably growing its core segments.  We are dedicated to continuing to reap benefits from these initiatives, as well as to developing future innovations that will be implemented more effectively and rapidly as a result of the tighter focus this transaction enables."

The Company also said it expects to provide certain transitional support services on a contractual basis to Mimi's Cafe during a period following the close of the transaction.  LDA intends to continue operating and managing the company out of its current Irvine, California office. 

Claude Bergeron , Chairman and Co-CEO of LeDuff America said, "Along with myself, the LeDuff America management team of Jim Vinz , Co-CEO, Mike Clock , CFO, Harry Martin , CAO, Phil Costner , CMO, Scott Berkman , CPO and Bob Parette , VP Finance and M&A, are thrilled to acquire Mimi's Cafe which embodies our passion for French inspired cuisine and ambience coupled with our 'Joie de Servir' or the Joy of Service.  We are very excited by the potential of the brand and look forward to leveraging a number of operating synergies along with our combined expertise to further enhance Mimi's Cafe position in the market and to introduce it to numerous communities across North America."


Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Reader Comments:

Be the first to leave a comment for this article

Tweet #RestaurantNews Tweet #RestaurantDevelopment Tweet #BobEvans Tweet