CityA.M. reports that the competition to buy Yo! Sushi is heating up, with new buyout firm Mayfair Equity Partners emerging as the leader to buy the restaurant chain, in a deal of around £100m.
Mayfair Equity Partners was founded earlier this year and is led by Daniel Sasaki, who previously led Lloyds Banking Group’s LDC and oversaw such deals as the acquisition and float of drinks brand Fever Tree.
Although Mayfair is thought to be the frontrunner to buy Yo! Sushi, private equity firm Inflexion could still launch a counter-bid.
Yo! Sushi was bought by private equity firm Quilvest in 2008 for around £51m, and has grown to over 90 sites, including 10 franchises in the Middle East, Ireland and Scandinavia. It plans to open up to 50 sites in the USA in the next six years.
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