FAT Brands Starts Strong on Nasdaq
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On a side street off Times Square brokers and traders lined up earlier this week for a rare treat outside of Nasdaq’s Manhattan market center: free Fatburgers. Mark Elenowitz, the investment banker behind the $24 million Regulation A capital raise of FAT Brands, was glowing with pride. FAT Brands opening IPO day was here and market interest had driven the stock to open above the $12 Reg A offer price. The first trade sold at $12.80 and the stock soared to $13.99 in the morning hours.
Elenowitz and his team at Tripoint Global Equities had worked all weekend to ensure the 2 million shares sold cleared the DTC (Depository Trust Company) and the hundreds of retail investors who bought stock through Tripoint’s online crowdfunding portal, BANQ, had their shares in their retail accounts available to trade immediately.
FAT Brands is controlled by Andy Wiederhorn, head of the investment firm Fog Cutter Capital Group. The Southern California burger joint Fatburger, often touted by Hollywood celebrities, was started by Lovie Yancey and Charles Simpson. Yancey first opened a three-seater burger stand in the late 1940s in front of her house in South Central Los Angeles.
FAT Brands, which stands for Fresh-Authentic-Tasty, owns multiple franchise chains focused on American food served in a fast casual setting. Fatburger is a 65-year-old company fashioned as a self-serve burger joint that competes with In-n-Out and Shake Shack (SHAK). Buffalo’s Café was founded in Roswell, Ga. in 1985, and is known for its chicken wings with 13 different sauces. And the company’s newest acquisition, Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouse, is a chain started in 1963 by Dan Blocker, who was known for his role as Hoss Cartwright in the TV western series Bonanza.
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