King & Spalding Advises Roark Capital in Purchase of Italian Restaurant Chain

ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwire - Jun 13, 2011) - King & Spalding advised Roark Capital Group, an Atlanta private equity firm, in the acquisition of the Italian restaurant chain Il Fornaio from New York-based private equity investment firm Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. for an undisclosed amount.

The Il Fornaio chain has 21 restaurants and also owns the Corner Bakery Café brand, which has 118 locations.

Roark Capital Group is an Atlanta-based private equity firm that specializes in consumer and business services companies, with a focus on the franchise, food and restaurant, specialty retail, environmental services, waste management and marketing services sectors. Its franchise portfolio includes Carvel Ice Cream, Cinnabon, Schlotzsky's, Moe's Southwest Grill, Seattle's Best Coffee International, McAlister's Deli, Money Mailer, FastSigns, BatteriesPlus, Primrose Schools, Wingstop, Pet Valu and Auntie Anne's.

King & Spalding's legal team involved in the transaction was lead by Atlanta corporate partner Raymond E. Baltz and consisted of the following lawyers:

Corporate:
William G. Roche (partner, Atlanta)
Jaron R. Brown (partner, Atlanta)
Erica B. Jackson (associate, Atlanta)
Matthew S. McCoy (associate, Atlanta)
Spencer A. Stockdale (associate, Atlanta)

Finance:
Robert S. Finley (partner, New York)
Ram S. Burshtine (partner, New York)
Chadwick M. Werner (associate, Atlanta)

Tax:
L. Wayne Pressgrove (partner, Atlanta)

Employee Benefits:
Kenneth A. Raskin (partner, New York)
Donna W. Edwards (counsel, Atlanta)
Laura R. Westfall (associate, New York)

Antitrust:
Brian R. Meiners (associate, Washington)
Eugenie Montague (associate, Washington)

About King & Spalding
Celebrating 125 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 800 lawyers in Abu Dhabi, Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Houston, London, Moscow, New York, Paris, Riyadh (affiliated office), San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Singapore and Washington, D.C. The firm represents half of the Fortune 100 and, according to a Corporate Counsel survey in August 2009, ranks fifth in its total number of representations of those companies. For additional information, visit www.kslaw.com.