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The Middleby Corp. will acquire AGA Rangemaster Group, a British manufacturer of residential kitchen equipment including ranges, ovens and refrigeration, for about $200 million. The AGA portfolio includes AGA, Rangemaster, Mercury, Falcon, Marvel, Stanley and La Cornue. Headquartered in Leamington Spa, the firm has approximately $400 million in annual revenue and more than 2,500 employees…

Private-equity firm NRD Partners has finalized its acquisition of Frisch’s Restaurants in a $174.5 million merger deal. The Cincinnati-based restaurant company, which operates Frisch’s Big Boy units in the Midwest, agreed in May to the sale. Craig Maier, whose family has been at the helm of the company since its founding in 1939, will step…

The nearly server-free restaurant of the future just got a little more real with some news from The Wasserstrom Co., the country’s third-largest foodservice E&S dealer. The century-old dealer, which reported 2014 sales of $610 million, has partnered with Creating Revolutions, a maker of mobile technology for restaurants and retailers, to distribute its service pager…

Food Management Partners has acquired Ovation Brands, owner of five buffet brands and casual-dining Tahoe Joe’s Famous Steakhouse. Greer, S.C.-based Ovation Brands has 328 restaurants in 35 states; its concepts include Ryan’s, Fire Mountain, Country Buffet, Old Country Buffet and Hometown Buffet. With the acquisition, San Antonio-based FMP’s portfolio has expanded to 500 restaurants. Terms…

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Co. is having a good year. In its just-released second-quarter results, the Atlanta company reported 2,443 restaurants, a jump of 8% from its 2,262 store count for the comparable period in 2014. In the most recent quarter, the Popeyes system opened 37 restaurants, including 18 domestic and 19 international restaurants. The chain…

FER once again was a winner at the Azbee Awards, the journalism honors presented annually by the American Society of Business Publications Editors. Not only did the magazine win four regional awards, Publisher/Research Editor Robin Ashton and Senior Contributing Editor Mike Sherer took home the national Gold award in the Special Section editorial category for…

In an acquisition that greatly expands its presence in the global beverage business, Micro Matic A/S has acquired Valpar Industrial Ltd., a manufacturer and supplier of beverage tubes and pythons to breweries and soft-drink producers worldwide. Founded in 1982, Bangor, Northern Ireland-based Valpar was the first company to produce machine-made pythons, which help maintain beer…