CKE Restaurants, Inc. Announces Agreement to Be Acquired by Affiliates of Apollo Management VII, L.P. and Termination of Merger Agreement with Affiliates of Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P.

CKE Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: CKR) announced that, as a result of the takeover proposal submitted to the Company on April 19, 2010 by Columbia Lake Acquisition Holdings, Inc., an affiliate of Apollo Management VII, L.P., the Company has terminated the merger agreement previously entered into with affiliates of Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. and entered into a new merger agreement with Apollo, pursuant to which Apollo has agreed to acquire the Company for $12.55 per share in cash.

The Company will file a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) with further details concerning this transaction. In addition, pursuant to the terms of the new merger agreement with Apollo, the Company will file a new proxy statement with the SEC on or before May 3, 2010.

CKE Restaurants, Inc.

Headquartered in Carpinteria, Calif., CKE Restaurants, Inc. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CKR." As of the end of its fiscal 2010, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,141 franchised, licensed or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and in 16 countries, including 1,224 Carl's Jr. restaurants and 1,905 Hardee's restaurants.