The parent company of Fox and Hound sports bar and Champps casual dining chains, F&H Acquisition Corp., is nearing a bankruptcy court deal valued at more than $120 million to sell to New York-based private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, the Triangle Business Journal reported yesterday. F&H would avoid a planned March auction under the deal, which reportedly calls for lender Cerberus Business Finance LLC to pay $14.5 million in cash in a private sale, forgive $19 million of debt and take responsibility for another $86 million of the company's debt in exchange for most of the company's assets. F&H Acquisition filed for chapter 11 protection in December 2013, and at that time the company owned and operated 101 full-service restaurants, including 50 Fox & Hound units, 35 Champps locations and 16 Bailey’s outlets, and it also franchised 11 Champps restaurants. F&H, based in Wichita, Kan, pointed to the continuing effects of the recession and poor sales as reasons for the filing.
