Chevys Finds Buyer in Real Mex

The parent company of the Acapulco and El Torito Mexican restaurant chains is angling to buy rival Chevys Fresh Mex.

Long Beach-based Real Mex Restaurants has agreed to acquire Chevys Inc.’s Chevys Fresh Mex restaurants and Fuzio Universal Pasta. The deal includes $78 million in cash, a minority interest in Real Mex and assumption of liabilities, said Michael Gottfried, a Los Angeles lawyer representing Chevys in its bankruptcy proceedings.

Chevys, based in Emeryville, Calif., has been seeking a buyer since entering Chapter 11 last year after a failed takeover deal.

If approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Oakland, the deal would nearly double Real Mex’s portfolio of 124 restaurants by adding 106 Chevys and 10 Fuzio eateries.

Chevys’ largest creditors have signed off on the deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, said Gottfried.

“For Chevys and its creditors ... they believe it’s the highest and best offer,” he said.

Real Mex plans to operate the chains under their names.

Chevys had previously agreed to be acquired by Consolidated Restaurant Operations Inc., which subsequently backed out of the deal.