YO! Sushi Acquires Brand Bento Sushi In $100m Deal

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TORONTO — Bento Sushi has been acquired by YO! Sushi — a chain of Japanese “kaiten” (conveyor-belt) sushi bars — for $100 million.

The acquisition of Bento Sushi, which now creates a global multi-channel and multi-brand sushi platform, was facilitated by Mayfair Equity Partners, which partnered with the YO! Sushi’s management team as part of a management buyout in 2015.

Bento, founded in Toronto in 1996 by Ken Valvur, is the second-largest sushi brand in North America and the largest in Canada — trading from more than 600 locations and supplying sushi to a further 1,700 partner sites. Bento operates across a range of formats which complement YO! Sushi’s existing proposition. These include quick-service restaurants, on-site kiosks in supermarkets and other foodservice locations, and a number of production facilities that supply sushi to grocery and institutional foodservice clients across North America.

With YO!’ Sushi’s international restaurant network across Europe, the Middle East and Australia, the combined business becomes one of the largest sushi companies outside Japan.

“This partnership presents Bento with an incredible opportunity to grow its platform,” says Glenn Brown, CEO of Bento Sushi. “[YO! Sushi] and Bento share a similar ethos and history, and we look forward to working with the [YO! Sushi] team and taking advantage of opportunities to develop both brands.”

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