Sentinel portfolio company Southern California Pizza acquires additional 98 Pizza Huts


Becomes Third Largest Franchisee in Pizza Hut System at 224 Restaurants


NEW YORK, August 24, 2009 - Sentinel Capital Partners, a private equity firm that invests in promising, smaller middle market companies, announced today that its portfolio company, Southern California Pizza Company, has purchased 98 Pizza Hut restaurants in the Los Angeles area from Pizza Hut, increasing the total number of Pizza Hut restaurants it owns to 224.

Southern California Pizza was established by Sentinel and management as a platform company to own and operate Pizza Huts. In August 2008, Southern California Pizza made its first acquisition—126 Pizza Huts in the greater Los Angeles market. Today it is the third largest franchisee in the Pizza Hut system and the largest in California.

"This purchase marks an important step forward in the strategic plan laid out by Sentinel and management to create a powerful and even more successful Pizza Hut platform," said Jerry Ardizzone, President and CEO of Southern California Pizza. "We have further solidified our leadership in the attractive Los Angeles market and we are positioned for continued growth."

"Southern California Pizza has all the ingredients of a successful Sentinel investment," said John McCormack, senior partner at Sentinel. "It is a market leader with solid fundamentals in an industry we know very well, and importantly, our management team is best-in-class and continues to demonstrate an ability to drive growth in a very challenging economic environment."

The investment in Southern California Pizza is consistent with Sentinel's successful investment history in restaurants and franchising. Prior Sentinel investments in the quick service restaurant sector include Falcon Holdings, a Church's chicken franchisee, and Border Foods, a Taco Bell franchisee. Sentinel has also successfully invested in franchisors outside the restaurant sector, including Cottman Transmissions Systems, one of the nation's largest providers of aftermarket transmission repair services, and Interim Healthcare, the largest home nursing healthcare provider in the U.S.