M&A Team Advises Darden Restaurants, Inc. in $780M Purchase of Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Restaurants

Hunton & Williams LLP advised client Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI), in its $780 million purchase of Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, a Texas-based restaurant chain. The all-cash transaction, announced March 27, 2017, will add to Darden’s portfolio of differentiated brands, which currently includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s.

The transaction is set to close in Darden’s fiscal 2017 fourth quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions.

The firm’s cross-office M&A team on the transaction is led by securities partner Dee Ann Dorsey and M&A partners Gary Thompson and Steven Haas, and includes lawyers Cameron Hill and Charles Brewer, among others.