$1 Billion Deal: Meet Dave’s Hot Chicken Finance Duo 2025

$1 Billion Deal

$1 Billion Deal: Good morning. rapid-informal eating place Dave’s warm hen began as a $900 pop-up in a la parking lot in 2017. eight years later, the emblem has increased to over 345 stores worldwide—a notable upward thrust from seven places in early 2020. On Oct. 1, the business enterprise introduced a partnership with Matternet to release its first drone-transport pilot in a LOS Angeles suburb, following its entry into the billion-greenback membership.$1 Billion Deal

$1 Billion Deal: Nashville-style

Acknowledged for its Nashville-style warm chook, Dave’s attracted Atlanta-based totally private equity company Roark Capital, which focuses on franchised corporations and purchased Subway in 2023. Roark owns primary eating place maintaining corporations: inspire manufacturers (Dunkin’, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic) and Go To foods (Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, Cinnabon). Dave’s hot bird become acquired by Roark this past summer for $1 billion and expects to reach 400 stores this yr.

$1 Billion Deal: Youth Buddies Dave Kopushyan

Based by way of youth buddies Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, and Tommy Rubenyan, the corporation has been led by using bill Phelps, co-founding father of Wetzel’s Pretzels, as CEO because 2019. James McGehee joined as CFO in 2019 after connecting with the team through Wetzel’s. “I’ve been inside the eating place enterprise and accounting and finance due to the fact that 1993, however I fell in love with food first,” McGehee told me.

Scott Putman, SVP of finance, who began with Dave’s in 2021, turned into formerly corporate controller for Wetzel’s Pretzels. Many group participants at Dave’s have worked with Phelps earlier than. “People aren’t here through coincidence,” said McGehee, highlighting the crew’s work ethic, information, and cultural healthy.

Franchise network

Underneath Phelps, the corporation bolstered its franchise network with the aid of selecting experienced, culturally aligned operators, McGehee said. by way of combining a standout logo, robust franchisees, and expert management, Dave’s improved its growth, he said.

In keeping with information from Technomic, a marketplace studies firm, Dave’s U.S. sales extended 57% in 2024 and exceeded $six hundred million. Its menu consists of chicken tenders, sliders, and bites, in addition to cauliflower options. Spice degrees variety from slight to the intense “Reaper.”

The organization’s achievement is pushed with the aid of sustained compound annual growth (round 40% CAGR over 5 years) and a scalable franchise model, McGehee stated.

Gen Z is riding rapid-food tendencies with their love of crispy fowl and ambitious taste. And Dave’s has a sturdy social media following, which includes 2 million Instagram fans and over 4 million TikTok followers, contributing to its rapid expansion. celebrity partners like Drake and Samuel L. Jackson also assist the brand. Putman works closely with the advertising team, meeting weekly.

Navigating the M&A process

McGehee and Putman confronted a complicated merger-and-acquisition system. 13 corporations submitted gives, 5 organizations that had been in diligence concurrently, McGehee stated.

“With five groups doing diligence on us, you’re here all day, all night,” Putman stated.

The two might ultimately structure a hybrid asset and stock sale that stored shareholders $32 million in taxes, Putman stated. by way of tailoring the technique to gain both California and out-of-country buyers, the team ensured the monetary windfall was widely shared, he stated.

The billion-dollar deal

The billion-dollar deal with Roark became now not just a payday for executives and founders. “Lots of our personnel had been capable of have a life-converting occasion,” Putman stated. Dave’s crew labored for years to construct the brand, and many shared within the sale’s success, seeing tangible rewards for their loyalty and difficult paintings, he said. “It just feels so accurate to recognize my fellow co-employees have a better lifestyle for his or her households and themselves,” he introduced. “We fought for that.”

McGehee and Putman also are Dave’s franchisees as well, connecting with their peers yearly. In January, the control team hosted an in-person assembly with the entire franchise system.

“What we love the most is the breakout periods wherein we’re capable of have greater concentrated time with our franchise proprietors and operators,” McGehee stated.

Leader board

Prithvi (Pritha) Gandhi was appointed SVP and CFO of Trex enterprise, Inc. (NYSE: TREX), a composite decking and railing manufacturer, powerful Oct. 6. Gandhi brings over 25 years of economic management experience. most lately, he changed into EVP and CFO of Beacon Roofing deliver. earlier in his career, Gandhi had an 8-yr tenure at Owens Corning, wherein he held multiple senior finance roles, which include as meantime CFO from 2019-2020.

Danny Leung become promoted to CFO of Money Hero restrained (Nasdaq: MNY), a non-public finance aggregation and evaluation platform. Leung were serving as the business enterprise’s meantime CFO due to the fact Dec. 15, 2024. A senior finance and accounting executive with over many years of numerous enjoy across increase-stage groups, multinational businesses, and publicly traded corporations, Leung joined Money Hero in 2024 as the organization’s institution director of finance.

Big Deal

After a slow period for fintech initial public offerings, the IPO marketplace rebounded in 2025. With six fintech companies going public to date this yr, according to records from S&P global market Intelligence.

As of Sept. 22, those six groups have raised about $three.3 billion. Marking the highest annual general in as a minimum a decade. And surpassing the $2.94 billion raised by 5 fintech IPOs in 2020, the studies reveal. The 2025 offerings consist of figure technology answers Inc. Gemini space Station Inc., Platinum Analytics Cayman Ltd., Bullish, Chime monetary Inc., and Aether Holdings Inc.

Going deeper

“America noticed ‘essentially no activity boom’ remaining month, warns Moody’s,. And any roles brought were in 3 wealthy states,” is a new file by way of Fortune’s Eleanor Pringle.

From the report: “Markets are hiking hopefully notwithstanding the fact that remaining week concluded without the standard jobs records. Releases by way of the Bureau of labor facts (BLS) are frequently key insights into the future trajectory of the economy. But traders are taking the constructive view within the absence of any terrible information.

But Moody’s is caution that personal reporting paints a less rosy picture. Describing position additions to the roles marketplace as ‘paltry’. Anybody from Wall Avenue to the Federal Reserve knows the USA’s hard work. Marketplace is weakening—including simply 22,000 jobs. n line with the BLS’s modern day launch for August—however are unsure by way of how a great deal.”

Overheard

“We’re undoubtedly at a tipping factor wherein leaders can educate AI systems. But most effective if human values. And intelligence shape the inspiration on which AI is built will it actually be triumphant.”