Weil Gotshal-Dallas Handles $1.1 Billion Chinese Restaurant Chain Purchase

By Mark Curriden

Sally Selio orders the same dish every time: P.F. Chang’s Spicy Chicken. “It’s the only Chinese food I like,” says the Grand Prairie mother of one.

Thanks to three Dallas-based corporate lawyers for Weil, Gotshal & Manges and $1.1 billion from a New York-based private equity firm, Sally should be able to keep enjoying her stir-fried chicken dish in P.F. Chang’s 16 Texas locations.

The financially struggling Chinese-themed restaurant chain announced Tuesday that it has agreed to sell to Centerbridge Partners.
P.F. Chang’s made lettuce wraps popular and its secondary business, Pei Wei, made Asian fast food… well, fast.

The legal team for Centerbridge, which has about $20 billion of capital under management, includes Weil partner Angela Fontana, who is the co-head of the firm’s banking and finance practice and is based in Dallas.

Joining Fontana are fellow Dallas corporate partner Kelly Dybala, corporate associate Benton Lewis, and a host of lawyers from Weil’s New York office.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter.

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