U.S. restaurant chain Chuck E. Cheese is reportedly exploring sale options amid emerging acquisition interest in the company, sources with knowledge on the matter revealed. This comes three years after the company went bankrupt.
The restaurant chain, known for its pizza and arcade games, is exploring an auction process with Goldman Sachs. According to the sources, the auction process may attract esteemed private equity firms as well as peers such as Dave & Busters Entertainment. The restaurant chain’s parent company, CEC Entertainment, stated to investors that it expects to rake in $1.2 billion in revenue and $195 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) this year.
Acquired by Apollo Global Management Inc. in 2014 for $1.3 billion, Chuck E. Cheese filed for bankruptcy in June 2020 as it reeled from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company overturned its bankruptcy in December 2020 after ownership in the company was transferred to its creditors, including Monarch Alternative Capital and Redan Advisors, who agreed to erase the company’s $705 million debt.