Jack in the Box Announces Partnership with The Cypress Group to Assist with Refranchising of Del Taco Restaurants

By: Jack in the Box Inc. via Business Wire

November 02, 2022 at 08:01 AM EDT

Refranchising effort will begin immediately, as part of asset-light portfolio optimization of Del Taco

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK) today announced that it has partnered with The Cypress Group, a leading restaurant and franchise investment banking firm, to manage the sale of certain company-owned Del Taco restaurants, which currently make up roughly half of the brand’s total restaurant count, to existing and new franchisees.

The sale process will begin immediately and represents the next step toward asset-light portfolio optimization of the Del Taco system, positioning it for future growth.

Cypress has more than 30 years of multi-unit M&A and corporate refranchising experience in the restaurant industry. Jack in the Box completed its acquisition of Del Taco last March, adding a clear growth opportunity to its portfolio – and seeks to make meaningful progress in 2023 on refranchising its newly-acquired brand to new or existing growth-oriented franchisees committing to develop additional restaurants.

“The attractiveness in acquiring a growth brand like Del Taco included the opportunity to create a multi-brand organization that operates asset-light, with the ability to make significant refranchising progress shortly after completion,” said Darin Harris, Jack in the Box chief executive officer. “Between our recent experience refranchising Jack in the Box, and now adding the expertise of The Cypress Group through this partnership, we feel we are well equipped to make progress toward this objective during 2023.”

“We are excited to work with Jack in the Box, Del Taco and this outstanding management team to facilitate the optimization process, and contribute to the new company’s growth strategy and objectives,” said Dean Zuccarello, Cypress chief executive officer. “These unique, challenger brands offer outstanding unit economics and a tremendous growth opportunity to franchisees – which give us great confidence to successfully execute the process.”

The Cypress Group will be launching opportunities to new franchisees, as well as existing Jack in the Box and Del Taco operators, immediately. Parties interested in these opportunities should direct all communication to DELRefran@cypressgroup.biz.

About Jack in the Box Inc.

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK), founded and headquartered in San Diego, California, is a restaurant company that operates and franchises Jack in the Box^®, one of the nation's largest hamburger chains with more than 2,200 restaurants across 21 states, and Del Taco^®, the second largest Mexican-American QSR chain by units in the U.S. with approximately 600 restaurants across 15 states. For more information on both brands, including franchising opportunities, visit www.jackinthebox.com and www.deltaco.com.

Category: Corporate

About The Cypress Group

The Cypress Group provides investment banking and strategic advisory services to the franchise and multi-unit restaurant and retail industries. Founded in 1990, we specialize in mergers and acquisitions, corporate refranchising initiatives, financing, restructuring, recapitalizations, strategic financial advisory services, valuation, and litigation support. The Cypress Group is recognized internationally as a leader in the industry, having completed hundreds of transactions since inception. The Cypress Group has received the “Dealmaker of the Year” award from Franchise Times on many occasions, recognizing its significant role and client success.