Morgan's Foods shareholders last week "overwhelmingly approved the deal, with approximately 99 percent of the votes cast... voting in favor of the merger," the companies said on Wednesday.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Morgan's Foods Inc., the Beachwood-based owner of 68 KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut Express franchises in Ohio and five other states, has been acquired by Apex Restaurant Management Inc. of Pleasanton, Calif., for $5 per share, or nearly $20.3 million.
Morgan's Foods shareholders last week "overwhelmingly approved the deal, with approximately 99 percent of the votes cast... voting in favor of the merger agreement," the companies said in a press release.
The price is double Morgan's Foods' closing price of $2.50 per share on the last day of trading before the transaction was announced.
The votes cast at the May 22 special shareholders meeting represent about 93 percent of Morgan's commons shares as of April 11. There were 4,050,147 common shares outstanding as of April 11, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Morgan's Foods' Chairman James C. Pappas said of the deal in March, "This is an outstanding opportunity for Morgan's shareholders, including many long standing shareholders that have been continuous supporters of the company over the years."
That same statement quotes James J. Liguori, Morgan's Foods' president and chief executive, as saying, "I am elated that the existing Morgan's restaurants and associates will join forces with Apex, which is a well-known professional restaurant organization."
Apex Chief Executive Tabbassum Mumtaz said in a written statement that "The Morgan's Foods organization is an excellent fit into our existing QSR [quick-serve-restaurant] base, and I look forward to working with the Morgan's
Foods team on this exciting opportunity."
Morgan's Foods, founded in 1925, became one of the first franchises of Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1958. The company owns and operates 57 KFC restaurants, four Taco Bell restaurants, nine KFC/Taco Bell "2-n-1's," and three Taco Bell/Pizza Hut Express "2-n-1's," according to its website.
Of the 73 restaurants it operated as of May 24, 2013: 13 are in Ohio, 44 in Pennsylvania, seven in Missouri, one in Illinois, seven in West Virginia and one in New York.
Apex, formed in 2005, is one of the largest franchisees of Yum! Brands (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell) and Long John Silver's restaurants.
