Friendly's Ice Cream Finalizes Sale of Retail Ice Cream and Manufacturing Business

Friendly’s Ice Cream, LLC has finalized the sale of its Retail Ice Cream and Manufacturing business from an affiliate of Friendly’s Ice Cream, LLC to Dallas, Texas-based Dean Foods Company, a direct-to-store distributor of fresh fluid milk and other dairy and dairy case products in the United States, for the amount of $155 million in cash.

As of Monday, the restaurant organization will continue as FIC Restaurants, Inc., as it operates and franchises over 260 Friendly’s restaurants  in the eastern United States.  FIC Restaurants, Inc. is owned by an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc., and the existing senior restaurant management team will continue to lead the Friendly’s restaurant business.

“This agreement is the result of 105 percent growth of our retail business over the past five years, as well as the successful repositioning of our restaurant business,” says John Maguire, CEO of FIC Restaurants.  “Dean Foods possesses the growth capabilities and expertise to take the Friendly’s retail ice cream business to the next level of its meteoric rise.”

Led by its current experienced retail and creamery teams, the Friendly’s Ice Cream business, under the ownership of Dean Foods Company, will continue to operate out of the facility in Wilbraham, Massachusetts that for over 45 years has produced Friendly’s packaged ice cream and frozen dessert products, including single-serve sundae cups, cakes and rolls, along with ice cream for Friendly’s restaurants.

“Friendly’s restaurants have experienced tremendous growth in sales and guest traffic over the last 15 months; a direct result of the introduction of new and exciting menu items, compelling value propositions, the addition of drive-thru windows and extensive renovations to existing locations,” says Maguire.  Friendly’s restaurants are poised for continued market share growth with the transaction allowing Friendly’s restaurant management team to continue to focus on maintaining growth momentum in new and existing markets.