Paris—Dentons advised the European restaurant operator AmRest Holdings on the acquisition of Sushi Shop Group SAS for €240 million. The transaction is expected to close in the coming weeks, subject to regulatory approvals.

AmRest is the largest independent catering group in Central and Eastern Europe with approximately 1650 restaurants and a growing international presence. Since 1993, the group has built a portfolio of recognized brands including KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Starbucks, which are structured around a network of franchises and partnerships, as well as two brands in China: Blue Frog and Kabb. Amrest also owns its own brand "La Tagliatella", which operates internationally with its own restaurants and a franchise network.

Sushi Shop is the operator of a leading European chain of 165 Japanese restaurants, about one third of which are run by franchisees. Sushi Shop restaurants are present in France (72% of total activity) and in 11 other countries, including Spain, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. The group's business model is mainly based on delivery (55% of sales) and take-away (32% of sales).

The Dentons team advising Amrest included Corporate partner Olivier Genevois and associate Paul Sautier; Real Estate partner Véronique Lagarde, Intellectual Property partner David Masson and associate Charlotte Texier; Employment partner Katell Déniel-Allioux and Antitrust partner Emmanuelle van den Broucke and associate Alexia Delaunay.

Dentons has advised its long-term client Amrest on a number of important transactions over the past few years, including the acquisition of Starbucks and KFC subsidiaries in Germany in 2016, and the acquisition of Starbucks franchises in Romania and Bulgaria in 2015.

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