IHOP Plans to Open 165 Outlets, Close 45

IHOP Corp., the parent of the International House of Pancakes restaurant chain, said it plans to increase its size 25% by opening an additional 165 outlets over the next five years.

The new restaurants, together with IHOP’s plan for closing 45 existing outlets, would increase the size of IHOP’s system to 620 restaurants. Glendale-based IHOP now has 500 restaurants in 36 states, Canada and Japan. IHOP operates 56 of the outlets, while the majority are run by its franchisees and licensees.

IHOP said it will be able to finance the expansion because its initial public offering in July--in which the company sold 3.1 million common shares for $10 each--enabled IHOP to pay off part of its debt, thereby freeing more cash flow for expansion.