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đź”´ PRIVATE EQUITY OWNED
Carl's Jr. / Hardee's
fast food · Franklin, TN
PE Firm
Roark Capital
Acquirer
Roark Capital (via CKE Restaurants)
Year Acquired
2013
“From provocative ads to PE austerity. The fun left with the bikini models.”
The PE Playbook
- •Roark Capital acquired CKE Restaurants (parent of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's) in 2013
- •Former CEO Andy Puzder (Trump's failed Labor Secretary nominee) was replaced after controversies over worker pay and ads
- •Combined 3,800+ locations across both brands make this one of Roark's larger restaurant holdings
- •Part of Roark's massive franchise empire that now spans 80+ brands
Since the Acquisition
- â–¸Hardee's closed about 200 locations since 2019 under Roark's ownership, with system sales down 4.7%
- â–¸A major franchisee filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023
- ▸Government found Fair Labor Standards Act violations more than 60% of the time they inspected restaurants — over 1,000 violations
- â–¸Workers sued alleging CKE conspired with franchisees to suppress wages by agreeing not to hire each other's employees