Secures Interim Approval to Access New
Financing
FORT
LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 16,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BurgerFi International, Inc.
(NASDAQ: BFI, BFIIW) ("BurgerFi" or the "Company"), owner of the
high-quality, casual dining chain Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza &
Wings ("Anthony's") and one of the nation's leading fast-casual
"better burger" dining concepts, BurgerFi, today announced that it
received interim Court approval of its "first day" motions designed
to facilitate and ensure the continued and uninterrupted operations
of the Company's 144 locations, as requested.
The Court granted interim approval for the Company to
immediately access $3.5 million of
the debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing provided by an affiliate
of TREW Capital Management. The Court also approved the use of the
Company's existing employee benefits, cash management systems, and
customer programs. With the DIP financing approved by the Court,
the Company has the liquidity to stabilize its operations and work
with its vendors and landlords to meet the high standards for the
BurgerFi and Anthony's brands.
"The Company has worked very hard to ensure that the transition
into Chapter 11 would have no impact on our valued employees,
customers and franchise partners," said Carl Bachmann, Chief Executive Officer of
BurgerFi International, Inc. "We are very pleased that we received
approval of our key motions to support our continued operations
including employee wages and benefits, cash management and customer
programs."
As part of the financing agreement, the Company intends to
propose a sale process and bidding procedures for a sale with the
support of its lenders. The "second day" hearing seeking final
approval for the Company's requests is scheduled for October 7, 2024.
"Receipt of interim approval of our DIP financing provides the
Company with liquidity to fund operating expenses and meet
obligations while we restructure. We now have the liquidity for
operations at BurgerFi and Anthony's to continue as usual,"
concluded Jeremy Rosenthal, Chief
Restructuring Officer.
The Company filed its voluntary petitions on September 11, 2024, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
for the District of Delaware in
Wilmington. The case number is
21-12017.
David Heidecorn served notice to
the Board of Directors of his resignation as an independent member
of the Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Board, effective
immediately.
Court filings and other documents related to the restructuring
are available on a separate website administered by the Company's
claims agent, Stretto, Inc. at cases.stretto.com/BFI. Stakeholders
with questions can call (855) 492-7450 or (714) 881-5915 or
email BurgerFiInquiries@stretto.com
Proposed advisors to the Company are Raines Feldman Littrell
LLP, Force Ten Partners LLC, with Jeremy
Rosenthal as the Company's Chief Restructuring Officer, and
Sitrick And Company as strategic communications advisor to the
Company.
About BurgerFi International (Nasdaq: BFI, BFIIW)
BurgerFi International, Inc. is a leading multi-brand restaurant
company that develops, markets, and acquires fast-casual and
premium-casual dining restaurant concepts around the world,
including corporate-owned stores and franchises. BurgerFi
International, Inc. is the owner and franchisor of the two
following brands with a combined 144 locations.
Anthony's. Anthony's is a premium pizza and wing
brand with 51 restaurants (50 corporate-owned casual restaurant
locations and one dual brand franchise location), as of
September 10, 2024. Known for serving
fresh, never frozen and quality ingredients, Anthony's is centered
around a 900-degree coal-fired oven with menu offerings including
"well-done" pizza, coal-fired chicken wings, homemade meatballs,
and a variety of handcrafted sandwiches and salads. Anthony's was
named "The Best Pizza Chain in America" by USA Today's Great American Bites, "Top 3 Best
Major Pizza Chain" by Mashed in 2021, "The Absolute Best Wings in
the U.S." by Mashed in 2022, and named in "America's Favorite
Restaurant Chains of 2022" by Newsweek.
BurgerFi. BurgerFi is among the nation's fast-casual
better burger concepts with 93 BurgerFi restaurants (76 franchised
and 17 corporate-owned) as of September 10,
2024. BurgerFi is chef-founded and committed to serving
fresh, all-natural and quality food at all locations, online and
via first-party and third-party deliveries. BurgerFi uses 100%
American Angus Beef with no
steroids, antibiotics, growth hormones, chemicals or additives.
BurgerFi's menu also includes high-quality Wagyu Beef Blend
Burgers, All-Natural Chicken offerings, Hand-Cut Sides, and Frozen
Custard Shakes. BurgerFi was named "The Very Best Burger" at the
2023 edition of the nationally acclaimed SOBE Wine and Food
Festival and "Best Fast Food Burger" in USA Today's 10Best 2023
Readers' Choice Awards for its BBQ Rodeo Burger, "Best Fast Casual
Restaurant" in USA Today's 10Best 2023 Readers' Choice Awards for
the third consecutive year, QSR Magazine's Breakout Brand of 2020
and Fast Casual's 2021 #1 Brand of the Year. In 2021, Consumer
Reports awarded BurgerFi an "A Grade Angus Beef" rating for the
third consecutive year. To learn more about BurgerFi or to find a
full list of locations, please visit www.burgerfi.com. BurgerFi® is
a Registered Trademark of BurgerFi IP, LLC, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of BurgerFi.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" as
defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as
amended. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by
words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects,"
"intends," "plans," "predicts," "projects," "will be," "will
continue," "will likely result," and similar expressions. These
forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and
assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, which
could cause our actual results to differ materially from those
reflected in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could
cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not
limited to, those risks and uncertainties described under the
heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K
filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on
April 10, 2024, the Company's
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission on May 16, 2024,
and in any other filings made by the Company with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at
www.sec.gov, and the risks attendant to the bankruptcy process,
including the Company's ability to obtain court approval from the
Court with respect to motions or other requests made to the Court
throughout the course of the Chapter 11 cases; the effects of the
Chapter 11 cases, including increased legal and other professional
costs; results of operations or business prospects; the effects of
the Chapter 11 cases on the interests of various constituents and
financial stakeholders; the length of time that the Company will
operate under Chapter 11 protection and the continued availability
of operating capital during the pendency of the Chapter 11 cases;
objections to the Company's restructuring process or other
pleadings filed that could protract the Chapter 11 cases; risks
associated with third-party motions in the Chapter 11 cases; Court
rulings in the Chapter 11 cases and the outcome of the Chapter 11
cases in general. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking
statements attributable to BurgerFi or persons acting on BurgerFi's
behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary
statements included in this press release. We undertake no
obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any
revision to these forward-looking statements, except as required by
law. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE BurgerFi International