McGuireWoods Advises Hargett Hunter on Private Equity Investment in Restaurant Chain

September 25, 2019

McGuireWoods represented North Carolina-based private equity firm Hargett Hunter in its investment in Marugame Udon USA Holdings, a fast, casual Japanese Udon noodle chain. Marugame is the flagship concept for publicly traded Toridoll, a restaurant conglomerate with over $1.4 billion in sales and more than 1,700 restaurants worldwide. Financial terms were not disclosed.

With help from Hargett Hunter, Marugame plans to open more than 150 stores across the United States by 2025.

Led by partner Rebecca Brophy of Raleigh, the McGuireWoods deal team included partner Brad Austin of Charlotte and counsel Lisa Purvis of Jacksonville, Florida — all members of the firm’s M&A and Corporate Transactions Department.

Hargett Hunter invests exclusively in emerging and established restaurant chains generating a minimum of $10 million in annual sales. McGuireWoods previously represented Hargett Hunter when it acquired a majority stake in the casual dining brand STACKED in 2018.

“We were pleased to assist Hargett Hunter in closing this significant private equity investment and to leverage the firm’s strength and reputation in food and beverage industry deals,” Brophy said.

McGuireWoods consistently ranks among the top law firms for M&A deals, including private equity. The firm remained a dominant player advising clients in M&A transactions through the first half of 2019, earning top five rankings for U.S. deal count and top 10 rankings for global transactions in league tables published by Refinitiv and Bloomberg.