Paulson & Co. Inc. and TriArtisan Capital Advisors LLC Announce Acquisition of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
March 1, 2019 — Paulson & Co. Inc. (“Paulson”), TriArtisan Capital Advisors LLC (“TriArtisan”) and Centerbridge Partners, L.P. (“Centerbridge”) today announced that they have closed a transaction in which Paulson and TriArtisan acquired P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. (“P.F. Chang’s” or the “Company”) from Centerbridge.
Jim Bell, CEO of P.F. Chang’s, said, “We want to thank Centerbridge Partners for their strong support of P.F. Chang’s. We are fortunate to have a partnership with Paulson and TriArtisan which will allow us to implement a collaborative growth strategy. Paulson and TriArtisan bring financial strength and expertise that will allow us to grow our dine-in and off-premises channels both domestically and internationally.”
The first P.F. Chang’s restaurant opened in 1993 in Scottsdale, AZ, where the Company is still headquartered, and has expanded to become a globally recognized brand known for authentic made-from-scratch Asian cuisine with focus on high-quality, fresh ingredients, and wok-trained chefs. Today the Company has more than 200 company-owned restaurants in operation and over 90 franchised locations globally across 24 countries.
John Paulson, Founder and President of Paulson, said, “P.F. Chang’s is a highly differentiated, iconic global brand with excellent financial performance and strong growth prospects. We are very excited to partner with P.F. Chang’s’ outstanding management team to drive the business forward.”
Rohit Manocha, a TriArtisan Founding Partner, said, “We intend to provide the management team with the resources to rapidly scale the business of providing high quality, contemporary Asian cuisine at a compelling value to our customers worldwide in both the off-premises and dine-in channels.”
Current Capital Partners’ Role
Jonathan Foster is on the Board of Directors of Wok Parent, LLC, the parent company of P.F. Chang’s.