00:00Denny's sells off 1,400 locations in $620 million.
00:05Workers hit as 90 stores face acts.
00:08On January 16th,
00:102026,
00:11Denny's went private in a roughly $620 million deal.
00:15The move,
00:20came amid slowing performance.
00:22U.S. same-store sales fell 2.9%.
00:25In Q3 2025,
00:28and plans to close 70% in Q3 2025.
00:30The move,
00:31was the move to 90 to 90 locations by the end of 2025.
00:33Raising questions about why the change
00:35chose to go private and which stores were first targeted.
00:38Behind the ownership change,
00:40is a tougher reality.
00:41Denny's has been trimming underperforming locations.
00:45Leading to closures,
00:46reduced hours,
00:47and layoffs.
00:49While exact numbers
00:50vary,
00:50the strategy is clear.
00:52Shrink the footprint,
00:53cut low-volume stores,
00:55and focus on profitability,
00:56fueling anxiety around the 90 stores expected to close.
01:00Denny's began in 1953 as Danny's Donuts in California.
01:05Later evolving into the diner-style chain known today.
01:08It grew through the 1950s,
01:10and 1960s,
01:11went public in 1968,
01:13and eventually based its corporate headquarters
01:15in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
01:17Like many casual dining chains,
01:19Denny's Donuts
01:20has faced lower demand post-pandemic,
01:22with customers more price conscious
01:24or opting
01:25for quick service
01:25and home meals.
01:27In Q3 2025,
01:29U.S. same-
01:30store sales fell 2.9%,
01:32creating pressure on franchisees
01:34and limiting
01:35corporate options
01:35to closures,
01:36refranchising,
01:38and cost-cutting.
01:39The transaction
01:40was announced
01:40in early November 2025
01:42as an all-cash deal
01:44at $6.
01:45and 25 cents
01:46per share
01:48described as a premium
01:49to the prior
01:50closing price
01:50and valued at roughly $620 million
01:53including debt.
01:55As of September 24,
01:572025,
01:58Denny's reported
01:591,400
02:00459 Denny's restaurants worldwide,
02:02plus 78 Kiki's Breakfast Café
02:05restaurants
02:05for a total of 1,537
02:08across the two
02:10brands.
02:11When restaurants close,
02:12workers feel it immediately.
02:14Communities
02:15change,
02:15schedules vanish,
02:17and communities
02:17lose familiar jobs.
02:20That does not automatically
02:21cover franchise
02:21restaurant employees,
02:23which is where
02:24most uncertainty
02:24comes from.
02:25Concentrates
02:25Chains built around
02:27daytime dining
02:28and AM eatery
02:30positioning
02:30have been taking share.
02:32And Denny's
02:33has acknowledged
02:33that competitive pressure
02:35has intensified.
02:37Inflation,
02:38labor costs,
02:39and shifting
02:40consumer habits
02:40have forced
02:41many sit-down chains
02:42to rethink
02:43unit counts
02:44and values.
02:45strategy
02:45What's not in dispute
02:47is the outcome.
02:48The merger proposal
02:49passed by
02:50an overwhelming margin
02:51with tens of millions
02:52of shares
02:53voting in favor
02:54versus a small
02:55number against.
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