Pizza Hut Franchises In Idaho, Washington Sold For $27.1 Million To Npc International
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Pizza Hut Franchises In Idaho, Washington Sold For $27.1 Million To Npc International

BOISE, IDAHO (Wednesday, February 21, 2007) - A Kansas company will pay $27.1 million for 59 Pizza Hut franchises in Idaho and eastern Washington. NPC International has purchased the assets of Pizza Hut of Idaho, Rocky Mountain Pizza Huts, Northwest Restaurant Group and Northern Idaho Pizza Huts, according to federal filings. All four companies are registered in Idaho to Gerald Waller and operate out of a Boise office on Phillippi Street. Waller's original company, Pizza Hut of Idaho, was incorporated more than 35 years ago. Other than his longstanding ties to the business community and years of free pizzas to schools and non-profits, Waller is best known for the loss of his Boise Foothills home in a 1996 wildland fire above 8th Street.

According to a 2003 article in Entrepreneur, Waller is a former engineer who went to college with the co-founder of the Pizza Hut chain. "After a stint as an engineer for the Boeing Co. in Seattle and Wichita, Kan., Mr. Waller got in touch with his old college buddy and proposed becoming a Pizza Hut franchisee," the article states. "He wanted to live in Idaho, so he secured the franchise rights to the entire state and opened his first unit in 1971 in Boise."

A press release from NPC states that 40 of the stores purchased from Waller are located in Idaho. Four other stores are in eastern Oregon and 15 are in Washington, primarily in the Spokane Valley.

According to information provided to NPC, the 51 restaurants, six delivery/carryout units and two express units generated $46.7 million in sales during the year ending in December.

NPC plans to fund the purchase with $16 million in cash reserves, and fund the rest by borrowing against a $75 million line of credit. The company said that the transaction is expected to close in the middle of next month. Pizza Hut, Inc., which issues franchises, must still approve the transaction, according to a press release.

"We are truly excited about this acquisition due in large part to the high quality restaurant teams that operate in these markets and the opportunity for future organic growth in the high growth markets of Idaho and the Spokane Valley," Jim Schwartz said in a press release. Schwartz is the chairman and CEO of NPC International.

NPC is the world's largest Pizza Hut franchisee. The company operates 815 Pizza Hut restaurants and delivery/carryout units in 23 states, according to a press release. The company was sold last year to Merrill Lynch Private Equity Group.

This is the company's most recent profile from Yahoo! Finance: "You might say this company is the prince of pepperoni in a pizza empire. NPC International is the world's largest franchisee of Pizza Hut restaurants, with about 800 of the red-roofed restaurants and delivery kitchens in more than 25 states, mostly in the South. The pizza joints are franchised from YUM! Brands, one of the top fast food companies in the world. NPC was founded by former chairman Gene Bicknell, who was one of the original Pizza Hut franchisees; he opened his first pizza restaurant in 1962. It was acquired by Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity in 2006."

This article, written by John M. Foster, appeared in the February 13, 2007 Idaho Business Review. It also appeared in the February 14, 2007 IFA Smart Brief.

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