Darden Restaurants said Friday that it completed its purchase of Chuy’s after shareholders of the Tex-Mex brand approved the proposed acquisition on Thursday.
Chuy’s shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve the merger, with votes representing more than 15 million of the company’s shares backing the deal and votes accounting for about 5,300 shares opposing, according to an 8-K filed last week.
The acquisition, first announced in July, brings a differentiated brand with strong financials to Darden’s stable. Chuy’s 101 stores have an annualized unit volume of about $4.5 million, and despite a modest decrease in same-store sales, have seen average check size grow from $19.23 in Q2 2023 to $19.68 in Q2 2024, according to Chuy’s final 10-Q.
Darden financed the transaction using “a portion of the proceeds of a $400 million offering of 4.350% senior notes due 2027 and a $350 million offering of 4.550% senior notes due in 2029,” according to the press release. That $750 million in debt was issued in early October; according to the press release Darden used about $605 million to buy Chuy’s.
Chuy’s is the second major acquisition made by Darden since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Olive Garden parent company bought Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for $715 million in 2023.
Darden recently announced that it was adding delivery through Uber’s white label service across its company-owned Olive Gardens over the coming quarters, and will consider adding the service to its other brands on a case-by-case basis.
