ICV Partners Announces Significant Investment in JK&T Wings in Partnership with Management
Leading Franchisee of Buffalo Wild Wings to Benefit from Facility Improvements and Additional Franchisee Acquisitions
NEW YORK, November 4, 2019
ICV Partners, LLC, a leading investment firm focused on middle market companies, announced today that it has made a significant investment in JK&T Wings, a leading franchisee of Buffalo Wild Wings (“BWW”), in partnership with management.
Buffalo Wild Wings, founded in 1982, is the largest sports bar brand in the United States. Globally, Buffalo Wild Wings has more than 1,200 restaurants in 10 countries. BWW was acquired in February of 2018 by Inspire Brands (which also owns Arby’s, Sonic and Jimmy John’s). JK&T owns 42 BWW restaurants located primarily in Michigan, with additional locations in Massachusetts and Louisiana. Visit BuffaloWildWings.com.
Kent Ward, Chief Executive Officer of JK&T and Brian Carmody, President will continue as investors in JK&T. Mr. Ward said, “ICV has the financial and operational resources to help us grow the company and, importantly, they understand and share our passion for the BWW brand whose quality food combined with customer experience are the cornerstone of our success. We are very excited by the new leadership initiatives that Inspire is incorporating into this iconic brand and we look forward to having ICV as partners to help drive our growth and enhanced performance.”
“This purchase marks an important step in the strategic plan laid out by ICV and management to create a powerful and even more successful Buffalo Wild Wings platform. We are very excited to be investing to help grow the Buffalo Wild Wings’ brand,” said Ira Moreland, Managing Director of ICV. “Kent, Brian, and their team have built a strong and profitable company and we look forward to partnering with them and their executive team to grow the company and enhance their operations.”
Future improvements by the company include plans to remodel certain facilities, target additional store openings, as well as identify potential acquisitions of other franchisees.
About ICV Partners
Founded in 1998, ICV Partners is a leading private investment firm that supports management leaders of strong lower middle market companies. Over its first four funds, the principals of ICV have crafted a strong track record of helping companies expand their footprint and improve performance over the long term and across a variety of industries. Additional information is available at www.icvpartners.com.
Contact: Chris Tofalli
Chris Tofalli Public Relations
914-834-4334