- Bojangles has reportedly reached out to investment bankers to explore a possible sale. The expected asking price would be three times what it sold for six years ago. The exploration comes after Dave’s Hot Chicken sold for $1 billion.
With Dave’s Hot Chicken recently selling for $1 billion, another popular brand that largely operates in the Southeast is reportedly testing the acquisition waters.
The Wall Street Journal reports fast food chain Bojangles has reached out to investment bankers to potentially sell itself at a price tag of $1.5 billion.
No potential buyers have been identified yet and Bojangles could change its mind and not sell, the report warns. If the company does find a buyer willing to pay that amount, it would be approximately three times the $579 million it sold for in 2019, when it was taken private.
Bojangles, when contacted by Fortune, declined to comment on the report, citing its policy on rumor and speculation.
One thing is certain, however. Chicken-focused restaurants are on a long-standing tear. The chicken category saw sales increase 9% last year, according to Technomic. Burgers were up just 1%. In recent months, McDonald’s has added chicken strips to its menu and Taco Bell has recently added chicken nuggets. On Thursday, Taco Bell also announced it would begin serving Crispy Chicken Tacos and Burritos on June 17.
Chick-fil-A is still the leader in the category, but the category truly began to take off in 2019, when Popeye’s launched its own chicken sandwich for the first time in its then-50-year history. The chain had what it thought was a two-month supply of chicken sandwich materials on hand when it launched the product. As social media chatter exploded, it exhausted that backstock in just two weeks.
Demand grew so great that Popeye’s, at one point, encouraged customers to bring their own bun to stores and create their own sandwich, using chicken tenders.