Irvine-based El Pollo Loco Inc. is said to be on the auction block.
New York-based owner American Securities Capital Partners LLC took bids on the Mexican fast-food chain last week, according to TheDeal.com, an investment banking Web site.
Officials at American Securities couldn’t be reached for comment. Stephen Carley, El Pollo Loco’s chief executive, declined to address “innuendo” in the press.
American Securities bought El Pollo Loco in 1999 from Advantica Restaurant Group for $128 million, including the assumption of $15 million in debt.
In 2002, El Pollo Loco’s Chief Financial Officer Joseph Stein said a public offering could be in the cards for the chain.
A sale is more likely now. TheDeal.com, which estimated El Pollo Loco could fetch $340 million, named private equity firms Apax Partners and Bruckman Rosser, Sherrill & Co. as potential suitors. Both have stakes in other Mexican fast-food chains.
The restaurant industry has seen brisk acquisition activity in recent years.
For more on this story, see the July 4 edition of the Business Journal.
