Mickelson makes bid for Waffle House group

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Date AddedJuly 31, 2009 12:26:55 PM

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PGA pro Phil Mickelson is taking a swing at a Waffle House franchise that ran into financial troubles and is now looking for a new owner to buy it out of bankruptcy.

Mickelson is one of three partners in GS Acquisitions LLC, which bid $20.2 million on Nashville-based SouthEast Waffles, a chain of 105 Waffle House restaurants operating in four states.

Along with Mickelson, a two-time Masters tournament winner who has won a total 36 PGA tour events, partners in GS Acquisitions include Mickelson's agent Steve Loy, the chief executive of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Gaylord Sports Management, and Terry Pefanis, a former executive with Franklin-based Big Idea Inc., creator of the VeggieTales children's media brand.

The franchise's parent company, Waffle House of Norcross, Ga., also known as Newco, has submitted a bid of $21.4 million, payable over four years.

The franchise filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last August under allegations of check kiting and some $2.8 million in Internal Revenue Service claims for unpaid employment taxes, interest and penalties.

Former owner Jim Shaub and his chief financial officer Rebecca Sullivan have been sued for $10 million by SunTrust Bank for improper use of company funds for personal gain. The restaurant group has since returned to profitability.

GS Acquisitions has previously been turned down as a franchisee by Waffle House, reportedly due to its lack of restaurant experience, but the group has said it would make up for that by hiring experienced managers to run the restaurants.