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đź”´ PRIVATE EQUITY OWNED
Chuck E. Cheese
family entertainment · Irving, TX
PE Firm
Apollo Global Management
Year Acquired
2014
“Apollo loaded a kids' pizza chain with $1 billion in debt, then executives grabbed bonuses on the way down.”
The PE Playbook
- •Apollo acquired CEC Entertainment in 2014 for $1.3 billion, saddling it with nearly $1 billion in debt; lost money four of the next five years
- •Filed Chapter 11 in June 2020; CEO received a $1.3 million retention bonus weeks before the bankruptcy filing
- •Permanently closed ~47 locations through bankruptcy, shrinking from 537 to ~470 U.S. restaurants
- •Ownership transferred to creditors Monarch Alternative Capital and Redan Advisors, wiping out $705 million in debt
Since the Acquisition
- â–¸Filed for Chapter 11 in June 2020 with $1 billion in PE debt; had lost money in four of five years preceding bankruptcy, even before COVID
- â–¸34 locations permanently closed during bankruptcy
- ▸The iconic animatronic band removed from nearly all locations — only 4 stores kept them after fan backlash
- â–¸The company that defined kids' birthday parties for 40 years, gutted by the standard PE debt playbook