Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc

The Sizzler chain of steak restaurants is getting a grilling over the planned $2-billion Ahmanson Ranch residential development north of Los Angeles. It's not that Sizzler, a division of Sherman Oaks-based Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc., is looking to open a new location at the controversial site. Rather, Sizzler has drawn protesters because Worldwide's chairman, Phillip D. Matthews, also serves on the board of Washington Mutual Inc.

The Sherman Oaks-based owner of the Sizzler dining chain, Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc., said Friday that it agreed to be purchased by an Australian investment firm for about $210 million in cash. The $7-a-share offer from Sydney-based Pacific Equity Partners was 42% higher than Thursday's closing price for Worldwide's stock and double the shares' value Dec. 7, the day before the company said it might be looking for a buyer. In heavy trading Friday, Worldwide's stock jumped $1.

Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc. said Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter earnings plunged 83% as it continued to feel the effects of last year's E. coli outbreak at its Pat & Oscar's chain. The Sherman Oaks-based company earned $595,000, or 2 cents a share, in the period that ended July 25, down from $3.6 million, or 12 cents, a year earlier. Revenue grew 5% to $82 million. Worldwide operates 23 Pat & Oscar's eateries in California, 312 Sizzler steak outlets in the U.S.

Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc. reported on Tuesday that profit tripled in the fiscal second quarter as it regained its footing after an E. coli outbreak last year at its Pat & Oscar's chain. The Sherman Oaks-based company earned $900,000, or 3 cents a share, in the period ended Oct. 17, up from $300,000, or break-even, a year earlier. Revenue rose 4% to $79.4 million.

Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc., the parent of the Sizzler steak chain, reported Friday that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell 14% because of the cost of opening new restaurants and legal expenses. The Sherman Oaks-based company posted net income of $1.8 million, or 6 cents a share, for the quarter ended April 30, down from $2.1 million, or 8 cents, a year earlier. Fourth-quarter revenue was $71.5 million, up 12% from $63.6 million.

The parent of the Sizzler steak chain said Robert Holden, the head of its fastest growing subsidiary, Pat & Oscar's restaurants, would resign effective Sept. 30. Charles Boppell, CEO of the chain's parent, Worldwide Restaurant Concepts in Sherman Oaks, will take on Holden's duties until a successor is named. With sales slowing at the Sizzler brand, Worldwide has been looking to Pat & Oscar's for growth -- expanding the chain from seven when the company acquired it in 2000 to 21.

Increased sales Down Under helped the parent of the Sizzler steak restaurant chain post a fourfold increase in earnings for its second quarter ended Oct. 13, the parent firm said Friday. Sherman Oaks-based Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc. said net income for the quarter was $1.4 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with last year's $355,000, or 1 cent per share. Revenue was $64.4 million, a gain of 7.5% over the $59.9 million posted in the same period last year.

A San Diego County Superior Court judge has ruled that the Sherman Oaks-based parent of Sizzler restaurants did not commit fraud when it purchased the Pat & Oscar's chain from one of its founders three years ago. Michael Green, corporate counsel for Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc., said Friday that he believed the ruling by Judge John Meyer cleared the way for Worldwide to obtain the remaining 12.8% of Pat & Oscar's it doesn't already hold.

Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc., operator of the Sizzler steakhouse chain, said Wednesday that it had hired an advisor to weigh options including a sale or merger. The struggling Sherman Oaks company retained investment banker Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin to develop strategies that could include a complete or partial sale. Worldwide operates or franchises 22 Pat & Oscar's restaurants, 306 Sizzlers in the U.S. and Australia and 112 franchised KFC units, mostly in Australia.

Sizzler International Inc., in a marketing gambit that hopes to deliver more steak than sizzle, said Thursday that it plans to change its name to Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc., effective Tuesday. The Culver City-based company, which has long struggled to lift its profit and stock price, said the name change would better reflect its international presence and its restaurants that aren't part of the Sizzler chain.

The Sherman Oaks-based owner of the Sizzler dining chain, Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc., said Friday that it agreed to be purchased by an Australian investment firm for about $210 million in cash. The $7-a-share offer from Sydney-based Pacific Equity Partners was 42% higher than Thursday's closing price for Worldwide's stock and double the shares' value Dec. 7, the day before the company said it might be looking for a buyer. In heavy trading Friday, Worldwide's stock jumped $1.

Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc., operator of the Sizzler steakhouse chain, said Wednesday that it had hired an advisor to weigh options including a sale or merger. The struggling Sherman Oaks company retained investment banker Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin to develop strategies that could include a complete or partial sale. Worldwide operates or franchises 22 Pat & Oscar's restaurants, 306 Sizzlers in the U.S. and Australia and 112 franchised KFC units, mostly in Australia.

Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc. reported on Tuesday that profit tripled in the fiscal second quarter as it regained its footing after an E. coli outbreak last year at its Pat & Oscar's chain. The Sherman Oaks-based company earned $900,000, or 3 cents a share, in the period ended Oct. 17, up from $300,000, or break-even, a year earlier. Revenue rose 4% to $79.4 million.

Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc. said Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter earnings plunged 83% as it continued to feel the effects of last year's E. coli outbreak at its Pat & Oscar's chain. The Sherman Oaks-based company earned $595,000, or 2 cents a share, in the period that ended July 25, down from $3.6 million, or 12 cents, a year earlier. Revenue grew 5% to $82 million. Worldwide operates 23 Pat & Oscar's eateries in California, 312 Sizzler steak outlets in the U.S.

The U.S. Supreme Court will let Sherman Oaks-based Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc. sue one of the nation's largest meat suppliers over an E. coli bacteria poisoning that killed a girl and sickened more than 100 others at one of its Sizzler restaurants in 2000. The court refused to hear an appeal by Wichita, Kan.-based Excel Corp., a unit of privately held Cargill Inc., seeking to end a suit by the restaurant chain and others who became ill.

Higher labor costs and a 6% sales drop at its Pat & Oscar's restaurant chain -- due in part to an outbreak of E. coli that sickened about 40 people -- sent fiscal second-quarter profit at Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc. plunging 78%, the company said Monday. The Sherman Oaks company, which also owns the Sizzler steak chain, posted net income of $318,000, or break-even on a per-share basis, for the period ended Oct. 12, compared with $1.4 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 18.

The parent of the Sizzler steak chain said Robert Holden, the head of its fastest growing subsidiary, Pat & Oscar's restaurants, would resign effective Sept. 30. Charles Boppell, CEO of the chain's parent, Worldwide Restaurant Concepts in Sherman Oaks, will take on Holden's duties until a successor is named. With sales slowing at the Sizzler brand, Worldwide has been looking to Pat & Oscar's for growth -- expanding the chain from seven when the company acquired it in 2000 to 21.

Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc., the parent of the Sizzler steak chain, reported Friday that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell 14% because of the cost of opening new restaurants and legal expenses. The Sherman Oaks-based company posted net income of $1.8 million, or 6 cents a share, for the quarter ended April 30, down from $2.1 million, or 8 cents, a year earlier. Fourth-quarter revenue was $71.5 million, up 12% from $63.6 million.

A San Diego County Superior Court judge has ruled that the Sherman Oaks-based parent of Sizzler restaurants did not commit fraud when it purchased the Pat & Oscar's chain from one of its founders three years ago. Michael Green, corporate counsel for Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc., said Friday that he believed the ruling by Judge John Meyer cleared the way for Worldwide to obtain the remaining 12.8% of Pat & Oscar's it doesn't already hold.

The Sizzler chain of steak restaurants is getting a grilling over the planned $2-billion Ahmanson Ranch residential development north of Los Angeles. It's not that Sizzler, a division of Sherman Oaks-based Worldwide Restaurant Concepts Inc., is looking to open a new location at the controversial site. Rather, Sizzler has drawn protesters because Worldwide's chairman, Phillip D. Matthews, also serves on the board of Washington Mutual Inc.