Franchise Group

Last updated

Franchise Group, Inc.
Type Private
Genre
Founded2019;4 years ago (2019)
FounderBrian R. Kahn
Headquarters Delaware, Ohio
Key people
Brian R. Kahn (CEO)
Eric Seeton (CFO)
RevenueIncrease2.svg $4.937 billion (2023) [1]
Decrease2.svg $-68.573 million (2023)
Subsidiaries
Buddy's Home Furnishing
Website www.franchisegrp.com

Franchise Group, Inc. is an American privately-held holding company that acquires and manages mainly franchise companies. It owns brands in various retail industries including American Freight, Buddy's Home Furnishings, The Vitamin Shoppe, Pet Supplies Plus, Sylvan Learning and Badcock Home Furniture.

Contents

On August 21, 2023, it was announced that a consortium of investors had acquired Franchise Group for $2.6 billion. [2]

History

Founded in 2019 through the merger of Liberty Tax and Buddy's Home Furnishings, [3] it originally operated under the name Liberty Tax. However, when it was renamed Franchise Group, the company retained Liberty Tax and Buddy's Home Furnishings as its subsidiaries. [4]

One year after purchasing The Vitamin Shoppe and Sears Outlet, [5] the company purchased American Freight for $450 million in cash in 2020. [6] [7] - then Sears Outlet merged into American Freight. [8]

On November 5, 2020, Franchise Group announced that it would acquire Fort Smith, Arkansas-based regional furniture retailer FFO Home, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on the same day. [9] The acquisition was completed on December 29. [10]

In the year it sold Liberty Tax to NextPoint Financial for $249 million, [11] Franchise Group made numerous acquisitions in 2021. Around that time, it purchased Pet Supplies Plus in a deal valued at $700 million, [12] Sylvan Learning for $81 million, [13] and Badcock Home Furniture for $580 million. [14] [15]

In August, a group of investors bought Franchise Group for US$2.6 billion. In November 2023, Kahn was identified by Bloomberg as one of two co-conspirators in a securities fraud case, following the guilty plea of John Hughes, co-founder of Prophecy Asset Management [16]

Subsidiaries

Current subsidiaries

Former subsidiaries

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References

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  11. Pierceall, Kimberly (February 22, 2021). "Virginia Beach's Liberty Tax to be sold for $243 million, will offer consumer loans through LoanMe". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
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  15. 1 2 Nutcher, Paul. "Mulberry-based W.S. Badcock acquired by Franchise Group Inc. for $580 million". The Ledger. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
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