PART II — INFORMATION REQUIRED IN OFFERING CIRCULAR

An offering statement pursuant to Regulation A relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Information contained in this Preliminary Offering Circular is subject to completion or amendment. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted before the Offering Statement filed with the Commission is qualified. This Preliminary Offering Circular shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor may there be any sales of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful before registration or qualification under the laws of any such state. We may elect to satisfy our obligation to deliver a Final Offering Circular by sending you a notice within two business days after the completion of our sale to you that contains the URL where the Final Offering Circular or the Offering Statement in which such Final Offering Circular was filed may be obtained.

Subject to Completion, dated August 16, 2019

Preliminary Offering Circular

FAT Brands Inc.

1,200,000 shares of 8.25% Series B Cumulative Preferred Stock

(Liquidation Preference $25 Per Share)

Warrants to Purchase 720,000 Shares of Common Stock

We are offering up to 1,200,000 shares of our 8.25% Series B Cumulative Preferred Stock (which we refer to as the “Series B Preferred Stock”) and warrants (which we refer to as the “Warrants”) initially exercisable to purchase up to an aggregate of 720,000 shares of our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (which we refer to as the “Common Stock”), and the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants. Each share of Series B Preferred Stock that we sell in this Offering will be accompanied by a Warrant to purchase 0.60 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $8.50 per share of Common Stock. Each share of Series B Preferred Stock and accompanying Warrant is being offered at a price of $25.00, for an aggregate offering amount of up to $30,000,000. The shares of Series B Preferred Stock and Warrants will be issued separately but can only be purchased together in this Offering. Each Warrant will be immediately exercisable and will expire on the five year anniversary of the date of issuance.

We will pay cumulative dividends on the Series B Preferred Stock from and including the date of original issuance in the amount of $2.0625 per share each year, which is equivalent to 8.25% of the $25.00 liquidation preference per share. Dividends on the Series B Preferred Stock will be payable quarterly in arrears based on the Company’s fiscal quarters, beginning with the fiscal quarter ended September 29, 2019.

We may not redeem the Series B Preferred Stock before the first anniversary of the initial issuance date, or          , 2020. After the first anniversary of the initial issuance date we may, at our option, redeem the Series B Preferred Stock, in whole or in part, by paying $25.00 per share, plus any accrued and unpaid dividends to the date of redemption, and plus a redemption premium equal to 10% of liquidation preference prior to the second anniversary (                 , 2021) or 5% of liquidation preference after the second anniversary and prior to the third anniversary (                 , 2022). The Series B Preferred Stock will mature on the five-year anniversary of the initial issuance date (             , 2024) or the earlier liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company. Upon maturity, the holders of Series B Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive cash redemption of their shares in an amount equal to $25.00 per share plus any accrued and unpaid dividends.

Holders of Series B Preferred Stock may optionally cause the Company to redeem all or any portion of their Series B Preferred Stock following the first anniversary of the initial issuance date,               or                , 2021, for an amount equal to $25.00 per share, plus any accrued and unpaid dividends, minus an early redemption fee equal to 12% of liquidation preference prior to the second anniversary (          , 2021), 10% of liquidation preference after the second anniversary and prior to the third anniversary (              , 2022), or 8% of liquidation preference after the third anniversary and prior to the fourth anniversary (          , 2023). There will be no redemption premium charged after the fourth anniversary of the initial issuance date.

Our Common Stock is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol “FAT.” There is no established public trading market for the Series B Preferred Stock or the Warrants, and we do not expect a market to develop for the Series B Preferred Stock or the Warrants. We do not intend to apply for listing of the Series B Preferred Stock or Warrants on any securities exchange, and we do not expect that the Series B Preferred Stock or the Warrants will be quoted on NASDAQ. On July 29, 2019, the last reported sale price of our Common Stock was $3.70 per share.

The Offering will terminate at the earlier of: (1) the date at which $30,000,000 of Series B Preferred Stock and Warrants has been sold, (2) the date which is one year after this Offering being qualified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (which we refer to as the “SEC” or the “Commission”), or (3) the date on which this Offering is earlier terminated by the Company in its sole discretion (which we refer to as the “Termination Date”).

This Offering is being conducted on a “best efforts” basis pursuant to Regulation A of Section 3(6) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), for Tier 2 offerings. The Company may undertake one or more closings on a rolling basis. Until we complete a closing, the proceeds for the Offering will be kept in an escrow account. At a closing, the proceeds will be distributed to the Company and the associated Series B Preferred Stock will be issued to investors. If there are no closings or if funds remain in the escrow account upon termination of this Offering without any corresponding closing, the investments for this Offering will be promptly returned to investors, without deduction and generally without interest. Wilmington Trust, N.A. will serve as the escrow agent. There is a minimum purchase requirement for an investor of $500 of Series B Preferred Stock in order to participate in the Offering.

TriPoint Global Equities, LLC and Digital Offering, LLC have agreed to act as our exclusive selling agents (which we refer to as the “Selling Agents”) to offer the Series B Preferred Stock to prospective investors on a “best efforts” basis. In addition, the Selling Agents may engage one or more sub-Selling Agents or selected dealers. The Selling Agents are not purchasing the Series B Preferred Stock offered by us, and are not required to sell any specific number or dollar amount of the Series B Preferred Stock in the Offering. We expect to commence the offer and sale of the Series B Preferred Stock as of the date on which the Offering Statement of which this Offering Circular is a part (the “Offering Statement”) is qualified by the SEC.

Investing in the Series B Preferred Stock involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 11 of this Offering Circular to read about important factors you should consider before buying the Series B Preferred Stock.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this Offering Circular is accurate or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

NO SALE MAY BE MADE TO YOU IN THIS OFFERING IF THE AGGREGATE PURCHASE PRICE YOU PAY IS MORE THAN 10% OF THE GREATER OF YOUR ANNUAL INCOME OR NET WORTH. DIFFERENT RULES APPLY TO ACCREDITED INVESTORS AND NON-NATURAL PERSONS. BEFORE MAKING ANY REPRESENTATION THAT YOUR INVESTMENT DOES NOT EXCEED APPLICABLE THRESHOLDS, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO REVIEW RULE 251(d)(2)(i)(C) OF REGULATION A. FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ON INVESTING, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO REFER TO www.investor.gov.

THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION DOES NOT PASS UPON THE MERITS OF OR GIVE ITS APPROVAL TO ANY SECURITIES OFFERED OR THE TERMS OF THE OFFERING, NOR DOES IT PASS UPON THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY OFFERING CIRCULAR OR OTHER SOLICITATION MATERIALS. THESE SECURITIES ARE OFFERED PURSUANT TO AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION WITH THE COMMISSION; HOWEVER, THE SEC HAS NOT MADE AN INDEPENDENT DETERMINATION THAT THE SECURITIES OFFERED ARE EXEMPT FROM REGISTRATION.

For more information concerning the procedures of the Offering, please refer to “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page 58, including the sections “— Investment Limitations” and “— Procedures for Subscribing.”

This Offering Circular follows the disclosure format of Part I of Form S-1 pursuant to the general instructions of Part II(a)(1)(ii) of Form 1-A.

Book-Running Manager

Tripoint Global Equities

Co-Manager

Digital Offering

The date of this Offering Circular is                      2019.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

We include cross references in this Offering Circular to captions elsewhere in these materials where you can find further related discussions. The following table of contents tells you where to find these captions:

INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference the information we file with it, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document that we have filed separately with the SEC. We hereby incorporate by reference the following information or documents into this Offering Circular:

		Item 2. Properties
		Item 3. Legal Proceedings
		Item 5. Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
		Item 11. Executive Compensation,
		Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
		Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence, and
		Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services

Any information in any of the foregoing documents will automatically be deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent that information in this Offering Circular or in a later filed document that is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated herein by reference modifies or replaces such information.

We urge you to carefully read this Offering Circular and the documents incorporated by reference herein, before buying any of the securities being offered under this Offering Circular. This Offering Circular may add or update information contained in the documents incorporated by reference herein. To the extent that any statement that we make in this Offering Circular is inconsistent with statements made in the documents incorporated by reference herein, you should rely on the information in this Offering Circular and the statements made in this Offering Circular will be deemed to modify or supersede those made in the documents incorporated by reference herein.

You should rely only on the information contained in this Offering Circular or incorporated herein by reference. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained in this Offering Circular or incorporated herein by reference. You should not rely on any unauthorized information or representation. This Offering Circular is an offer to sell only the securities offered hereby, and only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. You should assume that the information in this Offering Circular is accurate only as of the date on the front of the applicable document and that any information we have incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this Offering Circular, or any sale of a security.

We further note that the representations, warranties and covenants made by us in any agreement that is filed as an exhibit to any document that is incorporated by reference in this Offering Circular were made solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement, including, in some cases, for the purpose of allocating risk among the parties to such agreements, and should not be deemed to be a representation, warranty or covenant to you. Moreover, such representations, warranties or covenants were accurate only as of the date when made. Accordingly, such representations, warranties and covenants should not be relied on as accurately representing the current state of our affairs.

Unless otherwise mentioned or unless the context requires otherwise, all references in this Offering Circular to “FAT Brands,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to FAT Brands Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its subsidiaries.

Upon written or oral request, we will provide you without charge a copy of any or all of the documents that are incorporated by reference into this Offering Circular, including exhibits which are specifically incorporated by reference into such documents. Requests should be directed to: FAT Brands Inc., Attention: Investor Relations, 9720 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, telephone (310) 319-1850.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained in this Offering Circular may not be based on historical facts and are “Forward-Looking Statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Offering Circular may be forward-looking statements. Statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, including, among others, statements regarding expected new franchisees, brands, store openings and future capital expenditures are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “targets,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions.

Forward-looking statements are subject to significant business, economic and competitive risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond our control, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. These and other risks, uncertainties and contingencies are described elsewhere in this Offering Circular, including under “Risk Factors,” and in the documents incorporated by reference herein, and include the following factors:

You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events except to the extent required by Federal securities laws.

OFFERING CIRCULAR SUMMARY

This summary highlights selected information about us, this Offering and information appearing elsewhere in this Offering Circular and in the documents incorporated by reference herein. This summary is not complete and does not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in the securities offered by this Offering Circular. You should read this summary together with the entire Offering Circular, including our financial statements, the notes to those financial statements and the other documents that we include in and/or have incorporated by reference in this Offering Circular, before making an investment decision. See the Risk Factors section of this Offering Circular beginning on page 11 and risk factors discussed in documents that we incorporate by reference in this Offering Circular, for a discussion of the risks involved in investing in our securities.

FAT Brands Inc.

FAT Brands Inc., formed in March 2017, is a leading multi-brand restaurant franchising company that develops, markets, and acquires predominantly fast casual restaurant concepts around the world. As a franchisor, we generally do not own or operate restaurant locations, but rather generate revenue by charging franchisees initial up-front fees as well as ongoing royalties. This asset light franchisor model provides the opportunity for strong profit margins and an attractive free cash flow profile while minimizing restaurant operating company risk, such as long-term real estate commitments or capital investments. Our scalable management platform enables us to add new stores and restaurant concepts to our portfolio with minimal incremental corporate overhead cost, while taking advantage of significant corporate overhead synergies. The acquisition of additional brands and restaurant concepts as well as expansion of our existing brands are key elements of our growth strategy.

As of the date of this Offering Circular, we were the owner and franchisor of the following restaurant brands:

Fatburger. Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1947, Fatburger (The Last Great Hamburger Stand^TM) has, throughout its history, maintained its reputation as an iconic, all-American, Hollywood favorite hamburger restaurant serving a variety of freshly made-to-order, customizable, big, juicy, and tasty Fatburgers, Turkeyburgers, Chicken Sandwiches, Impossible™ Burgers, Veggieburgers, French fries, onion rings, soft-drinks and milkshakes. With a legacy spanning over 70 years, Fatburger’s dedication to superior quality inspires robust loyalty amongst its customer base and has long appealed to American cultural and social leaders. We have counted many celebrities and athletes as past franchisees and customers, and we believe this prestige has been a principal driver of the brand’s strong growth. Fatburger offers a premier dining experience, demonstrating the same dedication to serving gourmet, homemade, custom-built burgers as it has since 1947. As of June 30, 2019, there were 164 franchised and sub-franchised Fatburger locations across 6 states and 18 countries.

Buffalo’s Cafe. Established in Roswell, Georgia in 1985, Buffalo’s Cafe (Where Everyone is Family^TM) is a family-themed casual dining concept known for its chicken wings and 13 distinctive homemade wing sauces, burgers, wraps, steaks, salads and other classic American cuisine. Featuring a full bar and table service, Buffalo’s Cafe offers a distinctive dining experience affording friends and family the flexibility to share an intimate dinner together or to casually watch sporting events while enjoying extensive menu offerings. Beginning in 2011, Buffalo’s Express was developed and launched within the Buffalo’s Cafe brand as a fast-casual, smaller footprint variant of Buffalo’s Café, offering a limited version of the full menu with an emphasis on chicken wings, wraps and salads. Current Buffalo’s Express outlets are co-branded with Fatburger locations, providing our franchisees with complementary concepts that share kitchen space and result in a higher average unit volume (compared to stand-alone Fatburger locations). As of June 30, 2019, there were 17 franchised Buffalo’s Cafe and 92 co-branded Fatburger / Buffalo’s Express locations globally.

Ponderosa & Bonanza Steakhouse. Ponderosa Steakhouse, founded in 1965, and Bonanza Steakhouse, founded in 1963 (collectively, “Ponderosa”), offer the quintessential American steakhouse experience, for which there is strong and growing demand in international markets, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses offer guests a high-quality buffet and broad array of great tasting, affordably-priced steak, chicken and seafood entrées. Buffets at Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses feature a large variety of all you can eat salads, soups, appetizers, vegetables, breads, hot main courses and desserts. An additional variation of the brand, Bonanza Steak & BBQ, offers a full-service steakhouse with fresh farm-to-table salad bar and a menu showcase of USDA flame-grilled steaks and house-smoked BBQ, with contemporized interpretations of traditional American classics. As of June 30, 2019, there were 83 Ponderosa and 14 Bonanza restaurants operating under franchise and sub-franchise agreements in 16 states and 5 countries.

Hurricane Grill & Wings. Founded in Fort Pierce, Florida in 1995, Hurricane Grill & Wings is a tropical beach themed casual dining restaurant known for its fresh, jumbo, chicken wings, 35 signature sauces, burgers, bowls, tacos, salads and sides. Featuring a full bar and table service, Hurricane Grill & Wings laid-back, casual, atmosphere affords family and friends the flexibility to enjoy dining experiences together regardless of the occasion. The acquisition of Hurricane Grill & Wings has been complementary to FAT Brands existing portfolio chicken wing brands, Buffalo’s Cafe and Buffalo’s Express. As of June 30, 2019, there were 55 franchised Hurricane Grill & Wings and 3 franchised Hurricane BTWs (Hurricane’s fast-casual burgers, tacos & wings concept), across 8 states.

Yalla Mediterranean. Founded in 2014, Yalla Mediterranean is a Los Angeles-based restaurant chain specializing in authentic, healthful, Mediterranean cuisine with an environmentally conscience and focus on sustainability. The word “yalla” which means “let’s go” is embraced in every aspect of Yalla Mediterranean’s culture and is a key component of our concept. Yalla Mediterranean offers a healthful Mediterranean menu of wraps, plates, and bowls in a fast-casual setting, with cuisine prepared fresh daily using, GMO-free, local ingredients for a menu that includes vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free options accommodating customers with a wide variety of dietary needs and preferences. The brand demonstrates its commitment to the environment by using responsibly-sourced proteins and utensils, bowls and serving trays made from compostable materials. Each of Yalla’s seven locations across California also feature on-tap selections of craft beers and fine wines. We intend to sell all of the existing Yalla locations to franchisees and expand the business through additional franchising.

Elevation Burger. Established in Northern Virginia in 2002, Elevation Burger is a fast-casual burger, fries, and shakes chain that provides its customers with healthier, “elevated” food options. Serving grass-fed beef, organic chicken, and French fries cooked using a proprietary olive oil-based frying method, Elevation maintains environmentally-friendly operating practices including responsible sourcing of ingredients, robust recycling programs intended to reduce carbon footprint, and store décor constructed of eco-friendly materials. The acquisition of Elevation Burger in June 2019 aligns with our corporate mission of providing fresh, authentic and tasty products to the customers of our franchisees and complements our existing burger brand, Fatburger. As of June 30, 2019, there were 43 franchised Elevation Burger stores located in 8 states plus the District of Columbia and 4 countries.

Systemwide, across all of the Company’s brands, store level sales approximated $100 million in the second quarter of 2019.

Beyond our current brand portfolio, we intend to acquire other restaurant franchise concepts that will allow us to offer additional food categories and expand our geographic footprint. In evaluating potential acquisitions, we specifically seek concepts with the following characteristics:

Leveraging our scalable management platform, we expect to achieve cost synergies post-acquisition by reducing the corporate overhead of the acquired company – most notably in the legal, accounting and finance functions. We also plan to grow the top line revenues of newly acquired brands through support from our management and systems platform, including public relations, marketing and advertising, supply chain assistance, site selection analysis, staff training and operational oversight and support.

Our franchisee base consisted of 194 franchisees as of June 30, 2019. Of these franchisees, 157 operate in North America and 46 own multiple restaurant locations. Our franchisees operated a total of 381 restaurants as of June 30, 2019, 295 of which were located in North America. As of June 30, 2019, we had commitments for development of over 200 new stores which remain to be completed.

The FAT Brands Difference – Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.

Our name represents the values that we embrace as a company and the food that we provide to customers – Fresh. Authentic. Tasty (which we refer to as “FAT”). The success of our franchisor model is tied to consistent delivery by our restaurant operators of freshly prepared, made-to-order food that our customers desire. With the input of our customers and franchisees, we continually strive to keep a fresh perspective on our brands by enhancing our existing menu offerings and introducing appealing new menu items. When enhancing our offerings, we ensure that any changes are consistent with the core identity and attributes of our brands, although we do not intend to adapt our brands to be all things to all people. In conjunction with our restaurant operators (which means the individuals who manage and/or own our franchised restaurants), we are committed to delivering authentic, consistent brand experiences that have strong brand identity with customers. Ultimately, we understand that we are only as good as the last meal served, and we are dedicated to having our franchisees consistently deliver tasty, high-quality food and positive guest experiences in their restaurants.

In pursuing acquisitions and entering new restaurant brands, we are committed to instilling our FAT Brands values into new restaurant concepts. As our restaurant portfolio continues to grow, we believe that both our franchisees and diners will recognize and value this ongoing commitment as they enjoy a wider concept offering.

Competitive Strengths

We believe that our competitive strengths include:

Growth Strategy

The principal elements of our growth strategy include:

Summary Risk Factors

We are subject to a number of risks, including risks that may prevent us from achieving our business objectives or that may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects. You should carefully consider the risks discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors,” including the following risks, before investing in our Series B Preferred Stock:

Our Corporate Information

FAT Brands Inc., the issuer of the Series B Preferred Stock in this Offering, was incorporated as a Delaware corporation on March 21, 2017. Our corporate headquarters are located at 9720 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Beverly Hills, California 90212. Our main telephone number is (310) 319-1850. Our principal Internet website address is www.fatbrands.com. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into, or a part of, this Offering Circular.

Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company

As a company with less than $1.07 billion in revenue during our last fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include the following:

We may take advantage of these provisions until the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the consummation of our initial public offering or such earlier time that we are no longer an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company if we have more than $1.07 billion in annual revenue, have more than $700 million in market value of our Common Stock held by non-affiliates, or issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt over a three-year period (as such amounts may be adjusted from time-to-time). We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these reduced burdens. We have elected to adopt the reduced disclosure with respect to financial statements and the related Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations disclosure. As a result of this election, the information that we provide stockholders may be different than you might get from other public companies in which you hold equity.

The JOBS Act permits an emerging growth company like us to take advantage of an extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies. We are choosing to “opt out” of this provision and, as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards as required when they are adopted. This decision to opt out of the extended transition period is irrevocable.

THE OFFERING

The following is a brief summary of certain terms of this offering. For a more complete description of the terms of the Series B Preferred Stock and Warrants, see “Description of the Securities We Are Offering–Series B Cumulative Preferred Stock” and “Description of the Securities We Are Offering–Warrants” in this Offering Circular.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Existing Structure

The following diagram shows our organizational structure at the time of this Offering Circular:

SUMMARY HISTORICAL AND PRO FORMA CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL AND OTHER DATA

The following tables summarize the consolidated historical financial data for FAT Brands Inc.

The summary statements of operations data for each of the twenty-six weeks ended June 30, 2019 and July 1, 2018 are derived from the unaudited financial statements of FAT Brands Inc. filed on the Company’s Form 10-Q with the SEC on   August 14, 2019. The summary statement of operations data for each of the years in the two-year period ended December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 are derived from the audited financial statements of FAT Brands Inc. filed on the Company’s Form 10-K with the SEC on March 29, 2019. We completed our initial public offering on October 20, 2017, and the statement of operations data for 2017 represents the period from our inception (March 21, 2017) through December 31, 2017.

The results of operations for the periods presented below are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for any future periods and the results for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for a full fiscal year. The information set forth below should be read together with the “Selected Historical Financial and Other Data” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the financial statements and the accompanying notes appearing elsewhere in this Offering Circular.

In thousands, except net income (loss) per share data

A reconciliation of net income to EBITDA is set forth below:

RISK FACTORS

An investment in the Series B Preferred Stock is subject to various risks that may adversely affect the value of the Series B Preferred Stock. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks described below together with the risks described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 30, 2018, in particular under the caption “Risk Factors”, and in other documents that we subsequently file with the SEC, all of which are incorporated by reference into this Offering Circular. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem insignificant or remote also may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, perhaps materially.

Risks Related to the Series B Preferred Stock and this Offering

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service our obligations, including our obligations under the Series B Preferred Stock.

Our ability to make dividend payments on our outstanding shares of preferred stock, including the Series B Preferred Stock, and outstanding indebtedness will depend on our financial and operating performance, which is subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business and other factors beyond our control. We may be unable to maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the liquidation preference, premium, if any, and dividends on our preferred stock, including the Series B Preferred Stock, as well as principal and interest on our outstanding indebtedness, including our senior secured credit facility.

We may need to refinance our redeemable preferred stock prior to the maturity of the Series B Preferred Stock.

Upon the five-year anniversary of the initial issuance date of our Series A Preferred Stock (June 8, 2023), the holders of Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to cash redemption of their shares in an amount equal to $25.00 per share, or an aggregate of $10,000,000, plus any accrued and unpaid dividends. In addition, upon the five-year anniversary of the initial issuance date (July 3, 2023) of our Series A-1 Preferred Stock, the holders of Series A-1 Preferred Stock will be entitled to cash redemption of their shares in an amount equal to $25.00 per share, or an aggregate of $4,500,000, plus any accrued and unpaid dividends. Although we expect to refinance or otherwise repay the holders of Series B Preferred Stock, we may not be able to refinance this amount on commercially reasonable terms or at all. The financial terms or covenants of any new credit facility, preferred stock or other indebtedness may not be as favorable as those under our existing Series A Preferred Stock and Series A-1 Preferred Stock. Our ability to complete a refinancing of our preferred stock will depend on our financial and operating performance, as well as a number of conditions beyond our control. For example, if disruptions in the financial markets were to exist at the time that we intended to refinance these amounts, we might be restricted in our ability to access the financial markets. If we are unable to refinance our preferred stock, our alternatives would include negotiating an extension of the maturities of our preferred stock with investors and seeking or raising new equity capital. If we were unsuccessful, the lenders under our senior secured credit facility and the holders of our existing Preferred Stock could demand repayment of the amounts owed to them on the relevant maturity date. As a result, our ability to pay the principal of and interest on the Series B Preferred Stock would be adversely affected.

We may incur additional indebtedness and obligations to pay cumulative dividends on preferred stock.

We and our subsidiaries may incur additional indebtedness and obligations to pay cumulative dividends on preferred stock in the future. The terms of the Series B Preferred Stock do not prohibit us or our subsidiaries from incurring additional indebtedness or issuing additional shares of preferred with cumulative dividends. Also, our subsidiaries could incur additional indebtedness that is structurally senior to the Series B Preferred Stock or we and our subsidiaries could incur indebtedness secured by a lien on assets that do not constitute collateral, including assets of ours and our subsidiaries, and the holders of such indebtedness will have the right to be paid first from the proceeds of such assets. If we issue any additional preferred stock that ranks equally with the Series B Preferred Stock, the holders of those shares will be entitled to share ratably with the holders of the Series B Preferred Stock in any proceeds distributed in connection with our insolvency, liquidation, reorganization or dissolution. This may have the effect of reducing the amount of proceeds paid to the holders of Series B Preferred Stock. If new indebtedness is added to our current debt levels, the related risks that we and our subsidiaries now face could materially increase.

Our ability to meet our obligations under the Series B Preferred Stock depends on the earnings and cash flows of our subsidiaries and the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or advance or repay funds to us.

We conduct all of our business operations through our subsidiaries. In servicing dividend payments to be made on the Series B Preferred Stock, we will rely on cash flows from these subsidiaries, mainly dividend payments and other distributions. The ability of these subsidiaries to make dividend payments to us will be affected by, among other factors, the obligations of these entities to their creditors, requirements of corporate and other law, and restrictions contained in agreements entered into by or relating to these entities.

We may not be able to redeem the Series B Preferred Stock upon an early redemption request.

The holders of Series B Preferred Stock will be entitled to early redemption following the first anniversary of the initial issuance date, or         , 2021, subject to an early redemption fee. We may not have sufficient funds available to redeem all of the Series B Preferred Stock tendered pursuant to any such early redemption.

The Series B Preferred Stock are a new issue and do not have an established trading market, which may, among several other factors, negatively affect their liquidity or market value.

The Series B Preferred Stock are a new issue of securities and there is no established trading market for the Series B Preferred Stock. We do not intend to apply for listing of the Series B Preferred Stock on NASDAQ, we cannot make any assurances as to the development or sustainability of an active trading market, the liquidity of any trading market that may develop, the ability of holders to sell their Preferred Stock in a timely manner or at all, or the price at which the holders might be able to sell their Preferred Stock.

If a trading market does develop for the Series B Preferred Stock, the future trading price of the Series B Preferred Stock will depend on many factors, including:

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

Our operating and financial results and growth strategies are closely tied to the success of our franchisees.

Our restaurants are operated by our franchisees, which makes us dependent on the financial success and cooperation of our franchisees. We have limited control over how our franchisees’ businesses are run, and the inability of franchisees to operate successfully could adversely affect our operating and financial results through decreased royalty payments. If our franchisees incur too much debt, if their operating expenses or commodity prices increase or if economic or sales trends deteriorate such that they are unable to operate profitably or repay existing debt, it could result in their financial distress, including insolvency or bankruptcy. If a significant franchisee or a significant number of our franchisees become financially distressed, our operating and financial results could be impacted through reduced or delayed royalty payments. Our success also depends on the willingness and ability of our franchisees to implement major initiatives, which may include financial investment. Our franchisees may be unable to successfully implement strategies that we believe are necessary for their further growth, which in turn may harm the growth prospects and financial condition of the company. Additionally, the failure of our franchisees to focus on the fundamentals of restaurant operations, such as quality service and cleanliness (even if such failures do not rise to the level of breaching the related franchise documents), could have a negative impact on our business.

Our franchisees could take actions that could harm our business and may not accurately report sales.

Our franchisees are contractually obligated to operate their restaurants in accordance with the operations, safety, and health standards set forth in our agreements with them and applicable laws. However, although we will attempt to properly train and support all our franchisees, they are independent third parties whom we do not control. The franchisees own, operate, and oversee the daily operations of their restaurants, and their employees are not our employees. Accordingly, their actions are outside of our control. Although we have developed criteria to evaluate and screen prospective franchisees, we cannot be certain that our franchisees will have the business acumen or financial resources necessary to operate successful franchises at their approved locations, and state franchise laws may limit our ability to terminate or not renew these franchise agreements. Moreover, despite our training, support and monitoring, franchisees may not successfully operate restaurants in a manner consistent with our standards and requirements or may not hire and adequately train qualified managers and other restaurant personnel. The failure of our franchisees to operate their franchises in accordance with our standards or applicable law, actions taken by their employees or a negative publicity event at one of our franchised restaurants or involving one of our franchisees could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, our brands, our ability to attract prospective franchisees, our company-owned restaurants, and our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Franchisees typically use a point of sale, or POS, cash register system to record all sales transactions at the restaurant. We require franchisees to use a specific brand or model of hardware or software components for their restaurant system. Currently, franchisees report sales manually and electronically, but we do not have the ability to verify all sales data electronically by accessing their POS cash register systems. We have the right under our franchise agreement to audit franchisees to verify sales information provided to us, and we have the ability to indirectly verify sales based on purchasing information. However, franchisees may underreport sales, which would reduce royalty income otherwise payable to us and adversely affect our operating and financial results.

If we fail to identify, recruit and contract with a sufficient number of qualified franchisees, our ability to open new franchised restaurants and increase our revenues could be materially adversely affected.

The opening of additional franchised restaurants depends, in part, upon the availability of prospective franchisees who meet our criteria. Most of our franchisees open and operate multiple restaurants, and our growth strategy requires us to identify, recruit and contract with a significant number of new franchisees each year. We may not be able to identify, recruit or contract with suitable franchisees in our target markets on a timely basis or at all. In addition, our franchisees may not have access to the financial or management resources that they need to open the restaurants contemplated by their agreements with us, or they may elect to cease restaurant development for other reasons. If we are unable to recruit suitable franchisees or if franchisees are unable or unwilling to open new restaurants as planned, our growth may be slower than anticipated, which could materially adversely affect our ability to increase our revenues and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to open new domestic and international franchisee-owned restaurants on a timely basis, our ability to increase our revenues could be materially adversely affected.

A significant component of our growth strategy includes the opening of new domestic and international franchised restaurants. Our franchisees face many challenges associated with opening new restaurants, including:

As a result of these challenges, our franchisees may not be able to open new restaurants as quickly as planned or at all. Our franchisees have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, delays in restaurant openings from time to time and have abandoned plans to open restaurants in various markets on occasion. Any delays or failures to open new restaurants by our franchisees could materially and adversely affect our growth strategy and our results of operations.

Our growth strategy includes pursuing opportunistic acquisitions of additional brands, and we may not find suitable acquisition candidates or successfully operate or integrate any brands that we may acquire.

As part of our growth strategy, we intend to opportunistically acquire new brands and restaurant concepts, such as our recently acquired brands Yalla Mediterranean and Elevation Burger. Although we believe that opportunities for future acquisitions may be available from time to time, competition for acquisition candidates may exist or increase in the future. Consequently, there may be fewer acquisition opportunities available to us as well as higher acquisition prices. There can be no assurance that we will be able to identify, acquire, manage or successfully integrate additional brands or restaurant concepts without substantial costs, delays or operational or financial problems.

The difficulties of integration include coordinating and consolidating geographically separated systems and facilities, integrating the management and personnel of the acquired brands, maintaining employee morale and retaining key employees, implementing our management information systems and financial accounting and reporting systems, establishing and maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and implementing operational procedures and disciplines to control costs and increase profitability.

In the event we are able to acquire additional brands or restaurant concepts, including our recently acquired brands Yalla Mediterranean and Elevation Burger, the integration and operation of such acquisitions may place significant demands on our management, which could adversely affect our ability to manage our existing restaurants. In addition, we may be required to obtain additional financing to fund future acquisitions, but there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms or at all.

We may not achieve our target development goals and the addition of new franchised restaurants may not be profitable.

Our growth strategy depends in part on our ability to add franchisees and our franchisees’ ability to increase our net restaurant count in domestic and international markets. The successful development and retention of new restaurants depends in large part on our ability to attract franchisee investment commitments and the ability of our franchisees to open new restaurants and operate these restaurants profitably. We cannot guarantee that we or our current or future franchisees will be able to achieve our expansion goals or that new restaurants will be operated profitably. Further, there is no assurance that any new restaurant will produce operating results similar to those of our franchisees’ existing restaurants.

Expansion into target markets could also be affected by our franchisees’ ability to obtain financing to construct and open new restaurants. If it becomes more difficult or more expensive for our franchisees to obtain financing to develop new restaurants, the expected growth rate of our system could slow, and our future revenues and operating cash flows could be adversely impacted.

Opening new franchise restaurants in existing markets and aggressive development could cannibalize existing sales and may negatively affect sales at existing franchised restaurants.

We intend to continue opening new franchised restaurants in our existing markets as a core part of our growth strategy. Expansion in existing markets may be affected by local economic and market conditions. Further, the customer target area of our franchisees’ restaurants varies by location, depending on a number of factors, including population density, other local retail and business attractions, area demographics and geography. As a result, the opening of a new restaurant in or near markets in which our franchisees’ restaurants already exist could adversely affect the sales of these existing franchised restaurants. Our franchisees may selectively open new restaurants in and around areas of existing franchised restaurants. Sales cannibalization between restaurants may become significant in the future as we continue to expand our operations and could affect sales growth, which could, in turn, materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. There can be no assurance that sales cannibalization will not occur or become more significant in the future as we increase our presence in existing markets.

The number of new franchised restaurants that actually open in the future may differ materially from the number of signed commitments from potential new franchisees.

The number of new franchised restaurants that actually open in the future may differ materially from the number of signed commitments from potential new franchisees. Historically, a portion of our commitments sold have not ultimately opened as new franchised restaurants. The historic conversion rate of signed commitments to new franchised locations may not be indicative of the conversion rates we will experience in the future and the total number of new franchised restaurants actually opened in the future may differ materially from the number of signed commitments disclosed at any point in time.

Termination of development agreements with certain franchisees could adversely impact our revenues.

We enter into development agreements with certain franchisees that plan to open multiple restaurants in a designated area. These franchisees are granted certain rights with respect to specified territories, and at their discretion, these franchisees may open more restaurants than specified in their agreements. The termination of development agreements with a franchisee or a lack of expansion by these franchisees could result in the delay of the development of franchised restaurants, discontinuation or an interruption in the operation of one of our brands in a particular market or markets. We may not be able to find another operator to resume development activities in such market or markets. While termination of development agreements may result in a short-term recognition of forfeited deposits as revenue, any such development delay, discontinuation or interruption would result in a delay in, or loss of, long-term royalty income to us by way of reduced sales and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our brands may be limited or diluted through franchisee and third-party activity.

Although we monitor and regulate franchisee activities under the terms of our franchise agreements, franchisees or other third parties may refer to or make statements about our brands that do not make proper use of our trademarks or required designations, that improperly alter trademarks or branding, or that are critical of our brands or place our brands in a context that may tarnish our reputation. This may result in dilution of, or harm to, our intellectual property or the value of our brands. Franchisee noncompliance with the terms and conditions of our franchise agreements may reduce the overall goodwill of our brands, whether through the failure to meet health and safety standards, engage in quality control or maintain product consistency, or through the participation in improper or objectionable business practices. Moreover, unauthorized third parties may use our intellectual property to trade on the goodwill of our brands, resulting in consumer confusion or dilution. Any reduction of our brands’ goodwill, consumer confusion, or dilution is likely to impact sales, and could materially and adversely impact our business and results of operations.

Our success depends substantially on our corporate reputation and on the value and perception of our brands.

Our success depends in large part upon our and our franchisees’ ability to maintain and enhance the value of our brands and our customers’ loyalty to our brands. Brand value is based in part on consumer perceptions on a variety of subjective qualities. Business incidents, whether isolated or recurring, and whether originating from us, franchisees, competitors, suppliers or distributors, can significantly reduce brand value and consumer trust, particularly if the incidents receive considerable publicity or result in litigation. For example, our brands could be damaged by claims or perceptions about the quality or safety of our products or the quality or reputation of our suppliers, distributors or franchisees, regardless of whether such claims or perceptions are true. Similarly, entities in our supply chain may engage in conduct, including alleged human rights abuses or environmental wrongdoing, and any such conduct could damage our or our brands’ reputations. Any such incidents (even if resulting from actions of a competitor or franchisee) could cause a decline directly or indirectly in consumer confidence in, or the perception of, our brands and/or our products and reduce consumer demand for our products, which would likely result in lower revenues and profits. Additionally, our corporate reputation could suffer from a real or perceived failure of corporate governance or misconduct by a company officer, or an employee or representative of us or a franchisee.

Our success depends in part upon successful advertising and marketing campaigns and franchisee support of such advertising and marketing campaigns.

We believe our brands are critical to our business. We expend resources in our marketing efforts using a variety of media, including social media. We expect to continue to conduct brand awareness programs and customer initiatives to attract and retain customers. Additionally, some of our competitors have greater financial resources, which enable them to spend significantly more on marketing and advertising than us. Should our competitors increase spending on marketing and advertising, or should our advertising and promotions be less effective than our competitors, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

The support of our franchisees is critical for the success of our advertising and marketing campaigns we seek to undertake, and the successful execution of these campaigns will depend on our ability to maintain alignment with our franchisees. Our franchisees are required to spend approximately 1%-3% of net sales directly on local advertising or contribute to a local fund managed by franchisees in certain market areas to fund the purchase of advertising media. Our franchisees are also required to contribute a percentage of their net sales to a national fund to support the development of new products, brand development and national marketing programs. In addition, we, our franchisees and other third parties have contributed additional advertising funds in the past. While we maintain control over advertising and marketing materials and can mandate certain strategic initiatives pursuant to our franchise agreements, we need the active support of our franchisees if the implementation of these initiatives is to be successful. Additional advertising funds are not contractually required, and we, our franchisees and other third parties may choose to discontinue contributing additional funds in the future. Any significant decreases in our advertising and marketing funds or financial support for advertising activities could significantly curtail our marketing efforts, which may in turn materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our inability or failure to recognize, respond to and effectively manage the accelerated impact of social media could adversely impact our business.

In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the use of social media platforms, including blogs, chat platforms, social media websites, and other forms of Internet based communications which allow individuals access to a broad audience of consumers and other interested persons. The rising popularity of social media and other consumer-oriented technologies has increased the speed and accessibility of information dissemination. Many social media platforms immediately publish the content their subscribers and participants post, often without filters or checks on accuracy of the content posted. Information posted on such platforms at any time may be adverse to our interests and/or may be inaccurate. The dissemination of information via social media could harm our business, reputation, financial condition, and results of operations, regardless of the information’s accuracy. The damage may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction.

In addition, social media is frequently used to communicate with our customers and the public in general. Failure by us to use social media effectively or appropriately, particularly as compared to our brands’ respective competitors, could lead to a decline in brand value, customer visits and revenue. Other risks associated with the use of social media include improper disclosure of proprietary information, negative comments about our brands, exposure of personally identifiable information, fraud, hoaxes or malicious dissemination of false information. The inappropriate use of social media by our customers or employees could increase our costs, lead to litigation or result in negative publicity that could damage our reputation and adversely affect our results of operations.

Negative publicity relating to one of our franchised restaurants could reduce sales at some or all of our other franchised restaurants.

Our success is dependent in part upon our ability to maintain and enhance the value of our brands, consumers’ connection to our brands and positive relationships with our franchisees. We may, from time to time, be faced with negative publicity relating to food quality, public health concerns, restaurant facilities, customer complaints or litigation alleging illness or injury, health inspection scores, integrity of our franchisees or their suppliers’ food processing, employee relationships or other matters, regardless of whether the allegations are valid or whether we are held to be responsible. The negative impact of adverse publicity relating to one franchised restaurant may extend far beyond that restaurant or franchisee involved to affect some or all of our other franchised restaurants. The risk of negative publicity is particularly great with respect to our franchised restaurants because we are limited in the manner in which we can regulate them, especially on a real-time basis. The considerable expansion in the use of social media over recent years can further amplify any negative publicity that could be generated by such incidents. A similar risk exists with respect to unrelated food service businesses, if consumers associate those businesses with our own operations. Additionally, employee claims against us based on, among other things, wage and hour violations, discrimination, harassment or wrongful termination may also create negative publicity that could adversely affect us and divert our financial and management resources that would otherwise be used to benefit the future performance of our operations. A significant increase in the number of these claims or an increase in the number of successful claims would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Consumer demand for our products and our brands’ value could diminish significantly if any such incidents or other matters create negative publicity or otherwise erode consumer confidence in us or our products, which would likely result in lower sales and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Failure to protect our service marks or other intellectual property could harm our business.

We regard our Fatburger®, Buffalo’s Cafe®, Ponderosa®, Bonanza®, Hurricane®, Yalla Mediterranean®, and Elevation Burger® service marks, and other service marks and trademarks related to our franchise restaurant businesses, as having significant value and being important to our marketing efforts. We rely on a combination of protections provided by contracts, copyrights, patents, trademarks, service marks and other common law rights, such as trade secret and unfair competition laws, to protect our franchised restaurants and services from infringement. We have registered certain trademarks and service marks in the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions. However, from time to time we become aware of names and marks identical or confusingly similar to our service marks being used by other persons. Although our policy is to oppose any such infringement, further or unknown unauthorized uses or other misappropriation of our trademarks or service marks could diminish the value of our brands and adversely affect our business. In addition, effective intellectual property protection may not be available in every country in which our franchisees have, or intend to open or franchise, a restaurant. There can be no assurance that these protections will be adequate and defending or enforcing our service marks and other intellectual property could result in the expenditure of significant resources. We may also face claims of infringement that could interfere with the use of the proprietary knowhow, concepts, recipes, or trade secrets used in our business. Defending against such claims may be costly, and we may be prohibited from using such proprietary information in the future or forced to pay damages, royalties, or other fees for using such proprietary information, any of which could negatively affect our business, reputation, financial condition, and results of operations.

If our franchisees are unable to protect their customers’ credit card data and other personal information, our franchisees could be exposed to data loss, litigation, and liability, and our reputation could be significantly harmed.

Privacy protection is increasingly demanding, and the use of electronic payment methods and collection of other personal information expose our franchisees to increased risk of privacy and/or security breaches as well as other risks. The majority of our franchisees’ restaurant sales are by credit or debit cards. In connection with credit or debit card transactions in-restaurant, our franchisees collect and transmit confidential information by way of secure private retail networks. Additionally, our franchisees collect and store personal information from individuals, including their customers and employees.

Although our franchisees use secure private networks to transmit confidential information and debit card sales, their security measures and those of technology vendors may not effectively prohibit others from obtaining improper access to this information. The techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and are often difficult to detect for long periods of time, which may cause a breach to go undetected for an extensive period of time. Advances in computer and software capabilities, new tools, and other developments may increase the risk of such a breach. Further, the systems currently used for transmission and approval of electronic payment transactions, and the technology utilized in electronic payment themselves, all of which can put electronic payment at risk, are determined and controlled by the payment card industry, not by us, through enforcement of compliance with the Payment Card Industry-Data Security Standards. Our franchisees must abide by the Payment Card Industry-Data Security Standards, as modified from time to time, in order to accept electronic payment transactions. Furthermore, the payment card industry is requiring vendors to become compatible with smart chip technology for payment cards, referred to as EMV-Compliant, or else bear full responsibility for certain fraud losses, referred to as the EMV Liability Shift, which could adversely affect our business. To become EMV-Compliant, merchants must utilize EMV-Compliant payment card terminals at the point of sale and also obtain a variety of certifications.

If a person is able to circumvent our franchisees’ security measures or those of third parties, he or she could destroy or steal valuable information or disrupt our operations. Our franchisees may become subject to claims for purportedly fraudulent transactions arising out of the actual or alleged theft of credit or debit card information, and our franchisees may also be subject to lawsuits or other proceedings relating to these types of incidents. Any such claim or proceeding could cause our franchisees to incur significant unplanned expenses, which could have an adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Further, adverse publicity resulting from these allegations could significantly harm our reputation and may have a material adverse effect on us and our franchisees’ business.

We and our franchisees rely on computer systems to process transactions and manage our business, and a disruption or a failure of such systems or technology could harm our ability to effectively manage our business.

Network and information technology systems are integral to our business. We utilize various computer systems, including our franchisee reporting system, by which our franchisees report their weekly sales and pay their corresponding royalty fees and required advertising fund contributions. When sales are reported by a franchisee, a withdrawal for the authorized amount is initiated from the franchisee’s bank on a set date each week based on net sales during the week ended the prior Sunday. This system is critical to our ability to accurately track sales and compute royalties and advertising fund contributions and receive timely payments due from our franchisees. Our operations depend upon our ability to protect our computer equipment and systems against damage from physical theft, fire, power loss, telecommunications failure or other catastrophic events, as well as from internal and external security breaches, viruses, worms and other disruptive problems. Any damage or failure of our computer systems or network infrastructure that causes an interruption in our operations could have a material adverse effect on our business and subject us to litigation or actions by regulatory authorities. Despite the implementation of protective measures, our systems are subject to damage and/or interruption as a result of power outages, computer and network failures, computer viruses and other disruptive software, security breaches, catastrophic events, and improper usage by employees. Such events could result in a material disruption in operations, a need for a costly repair, upgrade or replacement of systems, or a decrease in, or in the collection of, royalties and advertising fund contributions paid to us by our franchisees. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability which could materially affect our results of operations. It is also critical that we establish and maintain certain licensing and software agreements for the software we use in our day-to-day operations. A failure to procure or maintain these licenses could have a material adverse effect on our business operations.

Failure in our information technology and storage systems could significantly disrupt the operation of our business.

Our ability to execute our business plan and maintain operations depends on the continued and uninterrupted performance of our information technology (“IT”) systems. IT systems are vulnerable to risks and damages from a variety of sources, including telecommunications or network failures, malicious human acts and natural disasters. Moreover, despite network security and back-up measures, some of our and our vendors’ servers are potentially vulnerable to physical or electronic break-ins, including cyber-attacks, computer viruses and similar disruptive problems. These events could lead to the unauthorized access, disclosure and use of non-public information. The techniques used by criminal elements to attack computer systems are sophisticated, change frequently and may originate from less regulated and remote areas of the world. As a result, we may not be able to address these techniques proactively or implement adequate preventative measures. If our computer systems are compromised, we could be subject to fines, damages, litigation and enforcement actions, and we could lose trade secrets, the occurrence of which could harm our business. Despite precautionary measures to prevent unanticipated problems that could affect our IT systems, sustained or repeated system failures that interrupt our ability to generate and maintain data could adversely affect our ability to operate our business.

We may engage in litigation with our franchisees.

Although we believe we generally enjoy a positive working relationship with the vast majority of our franchisees, the nature of the franchisor-franchisee relationship may give rise to litigation with our franchisees. In the ordinary course of business, we are the subject of complaints or litigation from franchisees, usually related to alleged breaches of contract or wrongful termination under the franchise arrangements. We may also engage in future litigation with franchisees to enforce the terms of our franchise agreements and compliance with our brand standards as determined necessary to protect our brands, the consistency of our products and the customer experience. We may also engage in future litigation with franchisees to enforce our contractual indemnification rights if we are brought into a matter involving a third party due to the franchisee’s alleged acts or omissions. In addition, we may be subject to claims by our franchisees relating to our franchise disclosure document, including claims based on financial information contained in our franchise disclosure document. Engaging in such litigation may be costly and time-consuming and may distract management and materially adversely affect our relationships with franchisees and our ability to attract new franchisees. Any negative outcome of these or any other claims could materially adversely affect our results of operations as well as our ability to expand our franchise system and may damage our reputation and brands. Furthermore, existing and future franchise-related legislation could subject us to additional litigation risk in the event we terminate or fail to renew a franchise relationship.

The retail food industry in which we operate is highly competitive.

The retail food industry in which we operate is highly competitive with respect to price and quality of food products, new product development, advertising levels and promotional initiatives, customer service, reputation, restaurant location, and attractiveness and maintenance of properties. If consumer or dietary preferences change, if our marketing efforts are unsuccessful, or if our franchisees’ restaurants are unable to compete successfully with other retail food outlets in new and existing markets, our business could be adversely affected. We also face growing competition as a result of convergence in grocery, convenience, deli and restaurant services, including the offering by the grocery industry of convenient meals, including pizzas and entrees with side dishes. Competition from delivery aggregators and other food delivery services has also increased in recent years, particularly in urbanized areas. Increased competition could have an adverse effect on our sales, profitability or development plans, which could harm our financial condition and operating results.

Shortages or interruptions in the availability and delivery of food and other supplies may increase costs or reduce revenues.

The food products sold by our franchisees are sourced from a variety of domestic and international suppliers. We, along with our franchisees, are also dependent upon third parties to make frequent deliveries of food products and supplies that meet our specifications at competitive prices. Shortages or interruptions in the supply of food items and other supplies to our franchisees’ restaurants could adversely affect the availability, quality and cost of items we use and the operations of our franchisees’ restaurants. Such shortages or disruptions could be caused by inclement weather, natural disasters, increased demand, problems in production or distribution, restrictions on imports or exports, the inability of vendors to obtain credit, political instability in the countries in which suppliers and distributors are located, the financial instability of suppliers and distributors, suppliers’ or distributors’ failure to meet our standards, product quality issues, inflation, the price of gasoline, other factors relating to the suppliers and distributors and the countries in which they are located, food safety warnings or advisories or the prospect of such pronouncements, the cancellation of supply or distribution agreements or an inability to renew such arrangements or to find replacements on commercially reasonable terms, or other conditions beyond our control or the control of our franchisees.

A shortage or interruption in the availability of certain food products or supplies could increase costs and limit the availability of products critical to our franchisees’ restaurant operations, which in turn could lead to restaurant closures and/or a decrease in sales and therefore a reduction in royalty fees to us. In addition, failure by a key supplier or distributor to our franchisees to meet its service requirements could lead to a disruption of service or supply until a new supplier or distributor is engaged, and any disruption could have an adverse effect on our franchisees and therefore our business. See “Business—Supply Chain.”

An increase in food prices may have an adverse impact on our and our franchisees’ profit margins.

Our franchisees’ restaurants depend on reliable sources of large quantities of raw materials such as protein (including beef and poultry), cheese, oil, flour and vegetables (including potatoes and lettuce). Raw materials purchased for use in our franchisees’ restaurants are subject to price volatility caused by any fluctuation in aggregate supply and demand, or other external conditions, such as weather conditions or natural events or disasters that affect expected harvests of such raw materials. As a result, the historical prices of raw materials used in the operation of our franchisees’ restaurants have fluctuated. We cannot assure you that we or our franchisees will continue to be able to purchase raw materials at reasonable prices, or that prices of raw materials will remain stable in the future. In addition, a significant increase in gasoline prices could result in the imposition of fuel surcharges by our distributors.

Because our franchisees provide competitively priced food, we may not have the ability to pass through to customers the full amount of any commodity price increases. If we and our franchisees are unable to manage the cost of raw materials or to increase the prices of products proportionately, it may have an adverse impact on our and our franchisees’ profit margins and their ability to remain in business, which would adversely affect our results of operations.

Food safety and foodborne illness concerns may have an adverse effect on our business.

Foodborne illnesses, such as E. coli, hepatitis A, trichinosis and salmonella, occur or may occur within our system from time to time. In addition, food safety issues such as food tampering, contamination and adulteration occur or may occur within our system from time to time. Any report or publicity linking one of our franchisee’s restaurants, or linking our competitors or our industry generally, to instances of foodborne illness or food safety issues could adversely affect our brands and reputations as well as our revenues and profits, and possibly lead to product liability claims, litigation and damages. If a customer of one of our franchisees’ restaurants becomes ill as a result of food safety issues, restaurants in our system may be temporarily closed, which would decrease our revenues. In addition, instances or allegations of foodborne illness or food safety issues, real or perceived, involving our franchised restaurants, restaurants of competitors, or suppliers or distributors (regardless of whether we use or have used those suppliers or distributors), or otherwise involving the types of food served at our franchisees’ restaurants, could result in negative publicity that could adversely affect our revenues or the sales of our franchisees. The occurrence of foodborne illnesses or food safety issues could also adversely affect the price and availability of affected ingredients, which could result in disruptions in our supply chain and/or lower margins for us and our franchisees.

Health concerns arising from outbreaks of viruses or other diseases may have an adverse effect on our business.

Our business could be materially and adversely affected by the outbreak of a widespread health epidemic. The occurrence of such an outbreak of an epidemic illness or other adverse public health developments could materially disrupt our business and operations. Such events could also significantly impact our industry and cause a temporary closure of restaurants, which would severely disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, viruses may be transmitted through human contact, and the risk of contracting viruses could cause employees or guests to avoid gathering in public places, which could adversely affect restaurant guest traffic or the ability to adequately staff franchised restaurants. We could also be adversely affected if jurisdictions in which our franchisees’ restaurants operate impose mandatory closures, seek voluntary closures or impose restrictions on operations of restaurants. Even if such measures are not implemented and a virus or other disease does not spread significantly, the perceived risk of infection or health risk may affect our business.

New information or attitudes regarding diet and health could result in changes in regulations and consumer consumption habits that could adversely affect our results of operations.

Government regulation and consumer eating habits may impact our business as a result of changes in attitudes regarding diet and health or new information regarding the health effects of consuming certain menu offerings. These changes have resulted in, and may continue to result in, laws and regulations requiring us to disclose the nutritional content of our food offerings, and they have resulted, and may continue to result in, laws and regulations affecting permissible ingredients and menu offerings. For example, a number of states, counties and cities have enacted menu labeling laws requiring multi-unit restaurant operators to disclose to consumers certain nutritional information or have enacted legislation restricting the use of certain types of ingredients in restaurants. These requirements may be different or inconsistent with requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (which we refer to as the “PPACA”), which establishes a uniform, federal requirement for certain restaurants to post nutritional information on their menus. Specifically, the PPACA requires chain restaurants with 20 or more locations operating under the same name and offering substantially the same menus to publish the total number of calories of standard menu items on menus and menu boards, along with a statement that puts this calorie information in the context of a total daily calorie intake. These inconsistencies could be challenging for us to comply with in an efficient manner. The PPACA also requires covered restaurants to provide to consumers, upon request, a written summary of detailed nutritional information for each standard menu item, and to provide a statement on menus and menu boards about the availability of this information upon request. An unfavorable report on, or reaction to, our menu ingredients, the size of our portions or the nutritional content of our menu items could negatively influence the demand for our products and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Compliance with current and future laws and regulations regarding the ingredients and nutritional content of our menu items may be costly and time-consuming. Additionally, if consumer health regulations or consumer eating habits change significantly, we may be required to modify or discontinue certain menu items, and we may experience higher costs associated with the implementation of those changes. We cannot predict the impact of the new nutrition labeling requirements under the PPACA until final regulations are promulgated. The risks and costs associated with nutritional disclosures on our menus could also impact our operations, particularly given differences among applicable legal requirements and practices within the restaurant industry with respect to testing and disclosure, ordinary variations in food preparation among our own restaurants, and the need to rely on the accuracy and completeness of nutritional information obtained from third-party suppliers.

Our business may be adversely impacted by changes in consumer discretionary spending and general economic conditions.

Purchases at our franchisees’ restaurants are generally discretionary for consumers and, therefore, our results of operations are susceptible to economic slowdowns and recessions. Our results of operations are dependent upon discretionary spending by consumers of our franchisees’ restaurants, which may be affected by general economic conditions globally or in one or more of the markets we serve. Some of the factors that impact discretionary consumer spending include unemployment rates, fluctuations in the level of disposable income, the price of gasoline, stock market performance and changes in the level of consumer confidence. These and other macroeconomic factors could have an adverse effect on sales at our franchisees’ restaurants, which could lead to an adverse effect on our profitability or development plans and harm our financial condition and operating results.

Our expansion into international markets exposes us to a number of risks that may differ in each country where we have franchised restaurants.

We currently have franchised restaurants in Canada, China, Qatar, Taiwan, Iraq, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Tunisia, Singapore, Philippines, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Japan, Pakistan, and Egypt and plan to continue to grow internationally. Expansion in international markets may be affected by local economic and market as well as geopolitical conditions. Therefore, as we expand internationally, our franchisees may not experience the operating margins we expect, and our results of operations and growth may be materially and adversely affected. Our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected if global markets in which our franchised restaurants compete are affected by changes in political, economic or other factors. These factors, over which neither our franchisees nor we have control, may include:

Our international operations subject us to risks that could negatively affect our business.

A significant portion of our franchised restaurants are operated in countries and territories outside of the United States, including in emerging markets, and we intend to continue expansion of our international operations. As a result, our business is increasingly exposed to risks inherent in international operations. These risks, which can vary substantially by country, include political instability, corruption and social and ethnic unrest, as well as changes in economic conditions (including consumer spending, unemployment levels and wage and commodity inflation), the regulatory environment, income and non-income based tax rates and laws, foreign exchange control regimes, consumer preferences and the laws and policies that govern foreign investment in countries where our franchised restaurants are operated. In addition, our franchisees do business in jurisdictions that may be subject to trade or economic sanction regimes. Any failure to comply with such sanction regimes or other similar laws or regulations could result in the assessment of damages, the imposition of penalties, suspension of business licenses, or a cessation of operations at our franchisees’ businesses, as well as damage to our and our brands’ images and reputations, all of which could harm our profitability.

Foreign currency risks and foreign exchange controls could adversely affect our financial results.

Our results of operations and the value of our foreign assets are affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which may adversely affect reported earnings. More specifically, an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies could have an adverse effect on our reported earnings. Our Canadian franchisees pay us franchise fees as a percentage of sales denominated in Canadian dollars, which are then converted to U.S. dollars at the prevailing exchange rate. This exposes us to risk of an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the Canadian dollar. There can be no assurance as to the future effect of any changes in currency exchange rates on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

We depend on key executive management.

We depend on the leadership and experience of our relatively small number of key executive management personnel, and in particular key executive management, particularly our Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Wiederhorn. The loss of the services of any of our executive management members could have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects, as we may not be able to find suitable individuals to replace such personnel on a timely basis or without incurring increased costs, or at all. We do not maintain key man life insurance policies on any of our executive officers. We believe that our future success will depend on our continued ability to attract and retain highly skilled and qualified personnel. There is a high level of competition for experienced, successful personnel in our industry. Our inability to meet our executive staffing requirements in the future could impair our growth and harm our business.

Labor shortages or difficulty finding qualified employees could slow our growth, harm our business and reduce our profitability.

Restaurant operations are highly service-oriented and our success depends in part upon our franchisees’ ability to attract, retain and motivate a sufficient number of qualified employees, including restaurant managers and other crew members. The market for qualified employees in our industry is very competitive. Any future inability to recruit and retain qualified individuals may delay the planned openings of new restaurants by our franchisees and could adversely impact our existing franchised restaurants. Any such delays, material increases in employee turnover rate in existing franchised restaurants or widespread employee dissatisfaction could have a material adverse effect on our and our franchisees’ business and results of operations.

In addition, strikes, work slowdowns or other job actions may become more common in the United States. Although none of the employees employed by our franchisees are represented by a labor union or are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, in the event of a strike, work slowdown or other labor unrest, the ability to adequately staff our restaurants could be impaired, which could result in reduced revenue and customer claims, and may distract our management from focusing on our business and strategic priorities.

Changes in labor and other operating costs could adversely affect our results of operations.

An increase in the costs of employee wages, benefits and insurance (including workers’ compensation, general liability, property and health) could result from government imposition of higher minimum wages or from general economic or competitive conditions. In addition, competition for qualified employees could compel our franchisees to pay higher wages to attract or retain key crew members, which could result in higher labor costs and decreased profitability. Any increase in labor expenses, as well as increases in general operating costs such as rent and energy, could adversely affect our franchisees’ profit margins, their sales volumes and their ability to remain in business, which would adversely affect our results of operations.

A broader standard for determining joint employer status may adversely affect our business operations and increase our liabilities resulting from actions by our franchisees.

In 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (which we refer to as the “NLRB”) adopted a new and broader standard for determining when two or more otherwise unrelated employers may be found to be a joint employer of the same employees under the National Labor Relations Act. In addition, the general counsel’s office of the NLRB has issued complaints naming McDonald’s Corporation as a joint employer of workers at its franchisees for alleged violations of the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act. In June 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the rescission of these guidelines. However, there can be no assurance that future changes in law, regulation or policy will cause us or our franchisees to be liable or held responsible for unfair labor practices, violations of wage and hour laws, or other violations or require our franchises to conduct collective bargaining negotiations regarding employees of our franchisees. Further, there is no assurance that we or our franchisees will not receive similar complaints as McDonald’s Corporation in the future, which could result in legal proceedings based on the actions of our franchisees. In such events, our operating expenses may increase as a result of required modifications to our business practices, increased litigation, governmental investigations or proceedings, administrative enforcement actions, fines and civil liability.

We could be party to litigation that could adversely affect us by increasing our expenses, diverting management attention or subjecting us to significant monetary damages and other remedies.

We may become involved in legal proceedings involving consumer, employment, real estate related, tort, intellectual property, breach of contract, securities, derivative and other litigation. Plaintiffs in these types of lawsuits often seek recovery of very large or indeterminate amounts, and the magnitude of the potential loss relating to such lawsuits may not be accurately estimated. Regardless of whether any such claims have merit, or whether we are ultimately held liable or settle, such litigation may be expensive to defend and may divert resources and management attention away from our operations and negatively impact reported earnings. With respect to insured claims, a judgment for monetary damages in excess of any insurance coverage could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations. Any adverse publicity resulting from these allegations may also adversely affect our reputation, which in turn could adversely affect our results of operations.

In addition, the restaurant industry around the world has been subject to claims that relate to the nutritional content of food products, as well as claims that the menus and practices of restaurant chains have led to customer health issues, including weight gain and other adverse effects. These concerns could lead to an increase in the regulation of the content or marketing of our products. We may also be subject to such claims in the future and, even if we are not, publicity about these matters (particularly directed at the quick service and fast casual segments of the retail food industry) may harm our reputation and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have been named as a party to purported class action and shareholder derivative lawsuits and we may be named in additional litigation, all of which could require significant management time and attention and result in significant legal expenses. An unfavorable outcome in one or more of these lawsuits could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

On June 7, 2018, August 2, 2018 and August 24, 2018, separate, but similar, complaints were filed against the Company, Andrew Wiederhorn, Ron Roe, Fog Cutter Capital Group, Inc., Tripoint Global Equities, LLC and members of the Company’s board of directors, alleging that the defendants are responsible for false and misleading statements and omitted material facts in connection with our initial public offering, which resulted in declines in the price of our common stock. The plaintiffs stated that they intend to certify the complaint as a class action and are seeking compensatory damages in an amount to be determined at trial.

The Company and other defendants dispute the allegations of the lawsuits and intend to vigorously defend against the claims. Regardless of the merits, the expense of defending such litigation may have a substantial impact if our insurance carrier fails to cover the cost of the litigation, and the time required to defend the actions could divert management’s attention from the day-to-day operations of our business, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations. In addition, an unfavorable outcome in such litigation in an amount which is not covered by our insurance carrier could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Changes in, or noncompliance with, governmental regulations may adversely affect our business operations, growth prospects or financial condition.

We and our franchisees are subject to numerous laws and regulations around the world. These laws change regularly and are increasingly complex. For example, we and our franchisees are subject to:

Compliance with new or existing laws and regulations could impact our operations. The compliance costs associated with these laws and regulations could be substantial. Any failure or alleged failure to comply with these laws or regulations by our franchisees or indirectly by us could adversely affect our reputation, international expansion efforts, growth prospects and financial results or result in, among other things, litigation, revocation of required licenses, internal investigations, governmental investigations or proceedings, administrative enforcement actions, fines and civil and criminal liability. Publicity relating to any such noncompliance could also harm our reputation and adversely affect our revenues.

Failure to comply with antibribery or anticorruption laws could adversely affect our business operations.

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other similar applicable laws prohibiting bribery of government officials and other corrupt practices are the subject of increasing emphasis and enforcement around the world. Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to promote compliance with these laws, there can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, agents, franchisees or other third parties will not take actions in violation of our policies or applicable law, particularly as we expand our operations in emerging markets and elsewhere. Any such violations or suspected violations could subject us to civil or criminal penalties, including substantial fines and significant investigation costs, and could also materially damage our reputation, brands, international expansion efforts and growth prospects, business and operating results. Publicity relating to any noncompliance or alleged noncompliance could also harm our reputation and adversely affect our revenues and results of operations.

Tax matters, including changes in tax rates, disagreements with taxing authorities and imposition of new taxes could impact our results of operations and financial condition.

We are subject to income taxes as well as non-income-based taxes, such as payroll, sales, use, value added, net worth, property, withholding and franchise taxes in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions. We are also subject to regular reviews, examinations and audits by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (which we refer to as the “IRS”) and other taxing authorities with respect to such income and non-income-based taxes inside and outside of the U.S. If the IRS or another taxing authority disagrees with our tax positions, we could face additional tax liabilities, including interest and penalties. Payment of such additional amounts upon final settlement or adjudication of any disputes could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial position.

In addition, we are directly and indirectly affected by new tax legislation and regulation and the interpretation of tax laws and regulations worldwide. Changes in legislation, regulation or interpretation of existing laws and regulations in the U.S. and other jurisdictions where we are subject to taxation could increase our taxes and have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.

Conflict or terrorism could negatively affect our business.

We cannot predict the effects of actual or threatened armed conflicts or terrorist attacks, efforts to combat terrorism, military action against any foreign state or group located in a foreign state or heightened security requirements on local, regional, national or international economies or consumer confidence. Such events could negatively affect our business, including by reducing customer traffic or the availability of commodities.

Risks Related to Our Company and Our Organizational Structure

We will be included in FCCG’s consolidated group for federal income tax purposes and, as a result, may be liable for any shortfall in FCCG’s federal income tax payments

For so long as Fog Cutter Capital Group, Inc. (“FCCG”) continues to own at least 80% of the total voting power and value of our capital stock, we expect to be included in FCCG’s consolidated group for federal income tax purposes. By virtue of its controlling ownership and the Tax Sharing Agreement that we have entered into with FCCG, FCCG effectively controls all of our tax decisions. Moreover, notwithstanding the Tax Sharing Agreement, federal tax law provides that each member of a consolidated group is jointly and severally liable for the group’s entire federal income tax obligation. Thus, to the extent FCCG or other members of the group fail to make any federal income tax payments required of them by law, we would be liable for the shortfall. Similar principles generally apply for income tax purposes in some state, local and foreign jurisdictions.

We are controlled by FCCG, whose interests may differ from those of our public stockholders, and may prevent you and other minority stockholders from influencing significant corporate decisions and may result in conflicts of interest.

FCCG controls approximately 81.9% of the combined voting power of our Common Stock. FCCG will, for the foreseeable future, have significant influence over corporate management and affairs, and will be able to control virtually all matters requiring stockholder approval. FCCG is able to, subject to applicable law, elect a majority of the members of our Board of Directors and control actions to be taken by us, including amendments to our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and approval of significant corporate transactions, including mergers and sales of substantially all of our assets. It is possible that the interests of FCCG may in some circumstances conflict with our interests and the interests of our other stockholders. For example, FCCG may have different tax positions from us, especially in light of the Tax Sharing Agreement, that could influence its decisions regarding whether and when to dispose of assets, whether and when to incur new or refinance existing indebtedness. In addition, the determination of future tax reporting positions, the structuring of future transactions and the handling of any future challenges by any taxing authority to our tax reporting positions may take into consideration FCCG’s tax or other considerations, which may differ from the considerations of us or our other stockholders. See “Note 8. Income Taxes” to the financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2018.

We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NASDAQ listing standards and, as a result, will qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. You may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.

Because of the aggregate voting power of FCCG, we are considered a “controlled company” for the purposes of the listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. As such, we are exempt from certain corporate governance requirements of NASDAQ, including (i) the requirement that a majority of the board of directors consist of independent directors, (ii) the requirement that we have a nominating and corporate governance committee that is composed entirely of independent directors and (iii) the requirement that we have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors. We do not currently rely on these exemptions and have the same requisite independent directors and board committee structure as non-controlled companies, but we may in the future choose to not maintain a majority of independent directors or compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees consisting entirely of independent directors. Accordingly, in the future you may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of NASDAQ.

Our anti-takeover provisions could prevent or delay a change in control of our company, even if such change in control would be beneficial to our stockholders.

Provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws as well as provisions of Delaware law could discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control of our company, even if such change in control would be beneficial to our stockholders. These provisions include:

These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing and cause us to take other corporate actions you desire. In addition, because our Board of Directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions could in turn affect any attempt by our stockholders to replace current members of our management team.

In addition, the Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL, to which we are subject, prohibits us, except under specified circumstances, from engaging in any mergers, significant sales of stock or assets or business combinations with any stockholder or group of stockholders who owns at least 15% of our common stock.

We may issue additional shares of preferred stock in the future, which could make it difficult for another company to acquire us or could otherwise adversely affect holders of our Common Stock and the Series B Preferred Stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue one or more series of preferred stock. Our board of directors has the authority to determine the preferences, limitations and relative rights of the shares of preferred stock and to fix the number of shares constituting any series and the designation of such series, without any further vote or action by our stockholders. Our preferred stock could be issued with voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to the rights of our Common Stock and the Series B Preferred Stock. The potential issuance of preferred stock may delay or prevent a change in control of us, discourage bids for our Common Stock at a premium to the market price, and materially and adversely affect the market price and the voting and other rights of the holders of our Common Stock and the Series B Preferred Stock.

The provision of our certificate of incorporation requiring exclusive venue in the state and federal courts located in Delaware for certain types of lawsuits may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation require, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or the bylaws or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine will have to be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, another state court located within the State of Delaware or, if no court located within the State of Delaware has jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware). Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers. The courts in Delaware may also reach different judgments or results than would other courts, including courts where a stockholder considering an action may be located or would otherwise choose to bring the action, and such judgments or results may be more favorable to us than to our stockholders. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition. However, we do not intend that this forum selection provision would apply to actions arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

A limited public trading market may cause volatility in the price of our Common Stock.

While our Common Stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, there can be no assurance that our Common Stock will continue to be quoted on NASDAQ or that a meaningful, consistent and liquid trading market will exist in the future. As a result, our stockholders may not be able to sell or liquidate their holdings of Common Stock received upon exercise of the Warrants in a timely manner or at the then-prevailing trading price of our Common Stock. In addition, sales of substantial amounts of our Common Stock, or the perception that such sales might occur, could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock and our stock price may decline substantially in a short time and our stockholders could suffer losses or be unable to liquidate their holdings.

If our operating and financial performance in any given period does not meet the guidance that we provide to the public, our stock price may decline.

We may provide public guidance on our expected operating and financial results for future periods. Any such guidance will be comprised of forward-looking statements subject to the risks and uncertainties described in our public filings and public statements. Our actual results may not always be in line with or exceed any guidance we have provided, especially in times of economic uncertainty. If, in the future, our operating or financial results for a particular period do not meet any guidance we provide or the expectations of investment analysts or if we reduce our guidance for future periods, the market price of our Common Stock may decline as well.

If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they publish negative evaluations of our Common Stock, the price of our Common Stock could decline.

The trading market for our Common Stock relies in part on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts covering our business downgrade their evaluations of our stock, the price of our Common Stock could decline. If one or more of these analysts cease to cover our Common Stock, we could lose visibility in the market for our stock, which in turn could cause our Common Stock price to decline.

Taking advantage of the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to “emerging growth companies” may make our Common Stock less attractive to investors.

The JOBS Act provides that, so long as a company qualifies as an “emerging growth company,” it will, among other things:

We currently take advantage of each of the exemptions described above. We have irrevocably elected not to take advantage of the extension of time to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards available under Section 107(b) of the JOBS Act. Investors may find our Common Stock less attractive if we continue to rely on these exemptions, and taking advantage of these exemptions may result in a less active trading or more volatility in the price of our Common Stock.

Our ability to pay regular dividends to our stockholders is subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors and may be limited by our holding company structure and applicable provisions of Delaware law.

Our board of directors may, in its sole discretion, decrease the amount or frequency of dividends or discontinue the payment of dividends entirely. In addition, as a holding company, we will be dependent upon the ability of our operating subsidiaries to generate earnings and cash flows and distribute them to us so that we may pay dividends to our stockholders. Our ability to pay dividends will be subject to our consolidated operating results, cash requirements and financial condition, the applicable provisions of Delaware law which may limit the amount of funds available for distribution to our stockholders, our compliance with covenants and financial ratios related to existing or future indebtedness, and our other agreements with third parties. In addition, each of the companies in the corporate chain must manage its assets, liabilities and working capital in order to meet all of its cash obligations, including the payment of dividends or distributions.

USE OF PROCEEDS

Our estimated net proceeds from this Offering are approximately $27,550,000, assuming the sale of the maximum offering size or an aggregate offering price of $25.00 per share, and after deducting commissions and estimated expenses of the offering.

We intend to use the net proceeds that we receive from this offering as follows: (i) $25,312,000 to repay our Term loan debt and (ii) $2,238,000 for general corporate purposes and possible future acquisitions and growth opportunities. Pending allocation to specific uses, we intend to invest the proceeds in short-term interest-bearing investment grade securities.

These amounts assume that at least $27,550,000 in net proceeds is raised in the Offering. If less than $27,550,000 is raised in the Offering, the amounts allocated to general corporate purposes and possible future acquisitions and growth opportunities would be reduced first. If less than $25,312,000 in net proceeds is raised in the Offering, we would first use the net amount raised to repay portions of our Term loan debt.

CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our consolidated capitalization as of June 30, 2019:

This information should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and other financial information set forth herein and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 incorporated by reference in this Offering Circular.

DIVIDEND POLICY

We declared the following dividends on common stock during the fiscal year ended December 30, 2018:

Subsequently, on February 7, 2019, we declared a stock dividend equal to 2.13% on our common stock, representing the number of shares equal to $0.12 per share of common stock based on the closing price as of February 6, 2019. The stock dividend was paid on February 28, 2019 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 19, 2019. We issued 245,376 shares of common stock at a per share price of $5.64 in satisfaction of the dividend. No fractional shares were issued, instead we paid stockholders cash-in-lieu of shares.

The declaration and payment of future dividends on our common stock and our various series of preferred stock will be at the sole discretion of the board of directors and may be discontinued at any time. In determining the amount of any future dividends, the board of directors will take into account: (i) our consolidated financial results, available cash, future cash requirements and capital requirements, (ii) any contractual, legal, tax or regulatory restrictions on the payment of dividends to stockholders, (iii) general economic and business conditions, and (iv) any other factors that the board of directors may deem relevant. The ability to pay dividends may also be restricted by the terms of any future credit agreement or any future debt or preferred equity securities of the Company or its subsidiaries.

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Executive Overview

Business overview

FAT Brands Inc., formed in March 2017 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fog Cutter Capital Group, Inc. (“FCCG”), is a leading multi-brand restaurant franchising company that develops, markets, and acquires predominantly fast casual restaurant concepts around the world. As a franchisor, we generally do not own or operate restaurant locations, but rather generate revenue by charging franchisees initial up-front fees as well as ongoing royalties. This asset light franchisor model provides the opportunity for strong profit margins and an attractive free cash flow profile while minimizing restaurant operating company risk, such as long-term real estate commitments or capital investments. Our scalable management platform enables us to add new stores and restaurant concepts to our portfolio with minimal incremental corporate overhead cost, while taking advantage of significant corporate overhead synergies. The acquisition of additional brands and restaurant concepts as well as expansion of our existing brands are key elements of our growth strategy.

As of June 30, 2019, the Company owns the following restaurant brands: Fatburger, Buffalo’s Cafe, Buffalo’s Express, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses, Yalla Mediterranean, and Elevation Burger. As of such date, these brands have over 380 locations open and over 200 under development in 32 countries. We acquired the Elevation Burger brand in June 2019.

Operating segments

Substantially all of our operations are comprised of franchising a growing portfolio of restaurant brands. Our growth strategy is centered on expanding the footprint of existing brands and acquiring new brands through a centralized management organization which provides substantially all executive leadership, marketing, training and accounting services. While there are variations in the brands, the nature of our business is fairly consistent across our portfolio. Consequently, our management assesses the progress of our operations as a whole, rather than by brand or location, which has become more significant as the number of brands has increased.

As part of our ongoing franchising efforts, we will, from time to time, make opportunistic acquisitions of operating restaurants in order to convert them to franchise locations. During the refranchising period, the Company may operate the restaurants.

Our chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) is our Chief Executive Officer. Our CODM reviews financial performance and allocates resources at an overall level on a recurring basis. Therefore, management has determined that the Company has one operating and reportable segment.

Results of Operations

We operate our franchising business on a 52 or a 53 week calendar, and the fiscal year ends on the last Sunday of December. Consistent with industry practice, we measure our stores’ performance based upon 7-day work weeks. Using the 52-week cycle ensures consistent weekly reporting for operations and ensures that each week has the same days, since certain days are more profitable than others. The use of this fiscal year means a 53rd week is added to the fiscal year every 5 or 6 years. In a 52-week year, all four quarters are comprised of 13 weeks. In a 53-week year, one extra week is added to the fourth quarter. Both the year 2019 and the year 2018 are 52-week years; while 2017 was a 53-week year.

Twenty-six Weeks Ended June 30, 2019 and July 1, 2018

The following table summarizes key components of our combined results of operations for the thirteen weeks and twenty-six weeks ended June 30, 2019 and July 1, 2018. The results of Hurricane, Elevation, and Yalla were not included in the operating results for the thirteen and twenty-six week periods ended July 1, 2018 because those transactions occurred subsequent to that date.

(In thousands)

Net (loss) income - Net loss for the twenty-six weeks ended June 30, 2019 totaled $1,218,000 consisting of revenues of $10,768,000 less costs and expenses of $8,571,000, other expense of $2,790,000 and income tax expense of $625,000. Net income for the twenty-six weeks ended July 1, 2018 totaled $882,000 consisting of revenues of $7,493,000 less general and administrative expenses of $5,725,000, other expense of $590,000 and income taxes of $296,000.

Revenues - Revenues consist of royalties, franchise fees, store opening fees, advertising fees and management fees and other income. We had revenues of $10,768,000 for the twenty-six weeks ended June 30, 2019 compared to $7,493,000 for the twenty-six weeks ended July 1, 2018. The increase of $3,275,000 was primarily the result of an increase in royalties of $1,695,000 which was largely the result of the acquisition of Hurricane; an increase in franchise and store opening fees of $792,000 and an increase in advertising revenue of $782,000.

Costs and Expenses – Costs and expenses consist primarily of general and administrative costs, advertising expense and refranchising restaurant operating costs, net of associated sales. Our costs and expenses increased from $5,725,000 in the first half of 2018 to $8,571,000 in the first half of 2019.

For the twenty-six weeks ended June 30, 2019, our general and administrative expenses totaled $5,542,000. For the twenty-six weeks ended July 1, 2018, our general and administrative expenses totaled $4,499,000. The increase in the amount of $1,043,000 was primarily the result of increases in compensation expenses and professional fees.

During the twenty-six weeks ended June 30, 2019, the refranchising efforts resulted in restaurant operating costs and expenses, net of associated sales in the amount of $1,021,000. We did not have comparable refranchising activity in the prior period.

Advertising expenses totaled $2,008,000 during the first half of 2019, with $1,226,000 during the prior year period, representing an increase in advertising expense of $782,000. These expenses vary in relation to the advertising revenue recognized.

Other Expense – Other net expense for the twenty-six weeks ended June 30, 2019 totaled $2,790,000 and consisted primarily of net interest expense of $3,382,000, which was partially offset by the gain on sale of two refranchised restaurants in the amount of $970,000. Other expense for the twenty-six weeks ended July 1, 2018 totaled $590,000 and consisted primarily of net interest expense of $514,000. An increase in total debt outstanding and the related costs resulted in the higher interest expense.

Income Tax Expense – We recorded income tax expense of $625,000 for the twenty-six weeks ended June 30, 2019 and a provision for income taxes of $296,000 for the twenty-six weeks ended July 1, 2018. These tax results were based on a net loss before taxes of $593,000 for 2019 compared to net income before taxes of $1,178,000 for 2018. However, non-deductible expenses, such as dividends paid on preferred stock, contributed to the higher tax expense for 2019.

Thirteen weeks Ended June 30, 2019 and July 1, 2018

Net (loss) income - Net loss for the thirteen weeks ended June 30, 2019 totaled $508,000 consisting of revenues of $5,895,000 less costs and expenses of $4,493,000, other expense of $566,000 and income tax expense of $1,344,000. Net income for the thirteen weeks ended July 1, 2018 totaled $373,000 consisting of revenues of $3,908,000 less general and administrative expenses of $3,081,000, other expense of $342,000 and income taxes of $112,000.

Revenues - Revenues consist of royalties, franchise fees, store opening fees, advertising fees and management fees and other income. We had revenues of $5,895,000 for the thirteen weeks ended June 30, 2019 compared to $3,908,000 for the thirteen weeks ended July 1, 2018. The increase of $1,987,000 was primarily the result of an increase in royalties of $803,000 which was largely the result of the acquisition of Hurricane; an increase in franchise fees and store opening fees of $774,000 and an increase in advertising revenue of $401,000. The majority of the increase in recognized franchise fees was primarily the result of the forfeiture of non-refundable deposits.

Costs and Expenses – Costs and expenses consist primarily of general and administrative costs, advertising expense and refranchising restaurant operating costs, net of associated sales. Our costs and expenses increased from $3,081,000 in the second quarter of 2018 to $4,493,000 in the second quarter of 2019.

For the thirteen weeks ended June 30, 2019, our general and administrative expenses totaled $2,959,000. For the thirteen weeks ended July 1, 2018, our general and administrative expenses totaled $2,451,000. The increase in the amount of $508,000 was primarily the result of increases in compensation expenses and professional fees.

During the second quarter of 2019, our refranchising efforts resulted in restaurant operating costs and expenses, net of associated sales in the amount of $503,000. We did not have comparable refranchising activity in the prior year period.

Advertising expenses totaled $1,031,000 during the second quarter of 2019, compared with $630,000 during the prior year period, representing an increase in advertising expense of $401,000. These expenses vary in relation to the advertising revenue recognized.

Other Expense – Other net expense for the thirteen weeks ended June 30, 2019 totaled $566,000 and consisted primarily of net interest expense of $1,265,000. Other expense for the thirteen weeks ended July 1, 2018 totaled $342,000 and consisted primarily of net interest expense of $300,000. An increase in total debt outstanding and the related costs resulted in the higher interest expense.

Income Tax Expense – We recorded an income tax expense of $1,344,000 for the thirteen weeks ended June 30, 2019 and a provision for income taxes of $112,000 for the thirteen weeks ended July 1, 2018. These tax results were based on a net income before taxes of $836,000 for 2019 compared to net income before taxes of $485,000 for 2018. Non-deductible expenses, such as dividends paid on preferred stock, contributed to the higher tax expense for 2019.

Fiscal Years Ended December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017

The following table summarizes key components of our consolidated results of operations for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2018 and for the period beginning March 21, 2017 (inception) through December 31, 2017, which includes the consolidated operating results of Fatburger, Buffalo’s and Ponderosa for the period from October 20, 2017 (acquisition) through December 31, 2017. Because 2017 consisted of only a partial year of operations, meaningful comparisons with the 2018 fiscal year cannot be made.

(In thousands)

Net Loss - Net loss for the 2018 fiscal year totaled $1,798,000 consisting of revenues of $18,367,000 less general and administrative expenses of $14,131,000; other expense of $6,309,000 and income tax benefit of $275,000. Net loss for the period from March 21, 2017 (inception) through December 31, 2017 (the “2017 Fiscal Year”) totaled $613,000 consisting of revenues of $2,173,000 less general and administrative expenses of $2,123,000; other expense of $256,000 and income taxes of $407,000.

Revenues - Our revenues consist of royalty fees, franchise fees, store opening fees, restaurant sales and management fees. We had revenues of $18,367,000 for the 2018 fiscal year compared to $2,173,000 in the 2017 Fiscal Year.

In 2018, our royalty fee revenue totaled $12,097,000 compared to $2,023,000 in the 2017 Fiscal Year. Royalty fee revenue in 2018 included 26 weeks of royalty fee revenue related to Hurricane without comparable revenue in 2017, and a full year of royalty revenue attributed to Fatburger, Buffalo’s and Ponderosa without comparable activity in the 2017 Fiscal Year.

In 2018, our franchise fee revenue totaled $2,136,000 compared to $140,000 in the 2017 Fiscal Year. This increase reflects the acquisition of Hurricane in July 2018 as well as the adoption of the new revenue recognition standards under ASC 606 on January 1, 2018.

Pursuant to the adoption of the new revenue recognition standards under ASC 606 on January 1, 2018, franchisee contributions to and subsequent expenditures for advertising are now record on the statement of operations. Prior to the adoption of the new revenue recognition standards under ASC 606, we did not include these contributions and expenditures in our consolidated statements of operations. In 2018, advertising fee revenue totaled were $3,182,000, without comparable activity in the 2017 Fiscal Year.

Other income includes the income from the restaurant operations from Yalla as well as fees earned through the management of certain stores. In 2018, other income totaled $600,000, primarily due to the Yalla acquisition without comparable activity in 2017.

General and Administrative Expenses - General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation expense, advertising fee expense, professional fees expense and public company expense. For fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, our general and administrative expenses totaled $14,131,000 compared to $2,123,000 in the 2017 Fiscal Year.

In 2018, compensation expense totaled $5,884,000 compared to $1,337,000 in the 2017 Fiscal Year reflecting the shorter period of operations in the 2017 Fiscal Year.

Pursuant to the adoption of the new revenue recognition standards under ASC 606 on January 1, 2018, franchisee contributions to and subsequent expenditures for advertising are now record on the statement of operations. Prior to the adoption of the new revenue recognition standards under ASC 606, we did not include these contributions and expenditures in our consolidated statements of operations. In 2018, advertising expense totaled were $3,182,000, without comparable activity in the 2017 Fiscal Year.

In 2018, professional fees expense totaled $1,529,000 and public company expense totaled $1,108,000 compared to $117,000 and $273,000, respectively, in the 2017 Fiscal Year reflecting the shorter period of operations in the 2017 Fiscal Year.

Other Expense, net – Other expense, net for the 2018 fiscal year totaled $6,309,000 and consisted primarily of interest expense of $5,939,000, which was partially offset by interest income of $1,170,000, and acquisition and other non-operating costs of $1,164,000. Other expense for the 2017 Fiscal Year totaled $256,000 and consisted primarily of interest expense of $405,000 which was partially offset by interest income of $200,000.

Income Tax (Benefit) Expense – We recorded an income tax benefit of $275,000 for the 2018 fiscal year. We recorded a provision for income taxes of $407,000 for the 2017 Fiscal Year. On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “TCJ Act”) was enacted into law. The reduction in the corporate tax rate under the TCJ Act required a one-time revaluation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities to reflect their value at the lower corporate tax rate of 21%. As a result of the Tax Reform Act, we recorded a tax expense of $505,000 due to a remeasurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities in 2017.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Liquidity is a measurement of our ability to meet potential cash requirements, including ongoing commitments to repay borrowings, fund business operations, acquisitions, and expansion of franchised restaurant locations and for other general business purposes. In addition to our cash on hand, our primary sources of funds for liquidity during the thirteen weeks ended June 30, 2019 consisted of net proceeds from the refinance of our long-term debt which contributed to the total cash provided by financing activities of $1,874,000.

We are involved in a world-wide expansion of franchise locations, which will require significant liquidity, primarily from our franchisees. If real estate locations of sufficient quality cannot be located and either leased or purchased, the timing of restaurant openings may be delayed. Additionally, if we or our franchisees cannot obtain capital sufficient to fund this expansion, the timing of restaurant openings may be delayed.

We also plan to acquire additional restaurant concepts. These acquisitions typically require capital investments in excess of our normal cash on hand. We would expect that future acquisitions will necessitate financing with additional debt or equity transactions. If we are unable to obtain acceptable financing, our ability to acquire additional restaurant concepts may be negatively impacted.

Comparison of Cash Flows

Twenty-six Weeks Ended June 30, 2019 and July 1, 2018

Our cash balance was $540,000 as of June 30, 2019, compared to $653,000 as of December 30, 2018.

The following table summarize key components of our consolidated cash flows for the twenty-six weeks ended June 30, 2019 and July 1, 2018 :

(In thousands)

For the Twenty-six Weeks Ended

Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities decreased $12,000 during the twenty-six weeks ended June 30, 2019 compared to the same period in 2018. There were variations in the components of the cash from operations between the two periods. Our net loss in 2019 was $1,218,000 compared to a net income in the 2018 period of $882,000. Non-cash items included in the reported net loss for the twenty-six weeks ended June 30, 2019 netted to positive $727,000 and had the effect of increasing the net cash provided by operating activities.

The primary components of these adjustments included:

Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities totaled $1,496,000 during the twenty-six weeks ended June 30, 2019 compared to $88,000 during the comparable 2018 period. The 2019 expenditures primarily included the net cash used to acquire Elevation Burger of $2,332,000 which was partially offset by cash proceeds from the sale of refranchised restaurants in the amount of $870,000.

Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities increased by $360,000 during the twenty-six weeks ended June 30, 2019 compared to the comparable 2018 period. During 2019, our net cash provided by financing activities included proceeds from a new loan in the amount of $23,053,000, which was partially offset by the repayment of the term loan in the amount of $16,417,000 and increases in amounts due from affiliates of $4,760,000. During the 2018 quarterly period, our net cash provided by financing activities was comprised primarily from the issuance of preferred stock in the amount of $8,000,000 and proceeds from borrowings in the amount of $1,882,000 net of the repayment of $8,121,000 of certain related party borrowings.

Dividends

Our Board of Directors declared a stock dividend on February 7, 2019 equal to 2.13% on its common stock, representing the number of shares equal to $0.12 per share of common stock based on the closing price as of February 6, 2019. The stock dividend was paid on February 28, 2019 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 19, 2019. The Company issued 245,376 shares of common stock at a per share price of $5.64 in satisfaction of the dividend. No fractional shares were issued, instead the Company paid stockholders cash totaling $1,670 for fractional shares based on the market value of the common stock on the record date.

The declaration and payment of future dividends, as well as the amount thereof, are subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors. The amount and size of any future dividends will depend upon our future results of operations, financial condition, capital levels, cash requirements and other factors. There can be no assurance that we will declare and pay dividends in future periods.

Loan and Security Agreement

On January 29, 2019, we refinanced the Term Loan. The Company as borrower, and its subsidiaries and affiliates as guarantors, entered into a new Loan and Security Agreement (the “Loan and Security Agreement”) with The Lion Fund, L.P. and The Lion Fund II, L.P. (“Lion”). Pursuant to the Loan and Security Agreement, the we borrowed $20.0 million from Lion, and utilized the proceeds to repay the existing $16.0 million term loan from FB Lending, LLC plus accrued interest and fees, and provide additional general working capital to the Company.

The obligation under the Loan and Security Agreement, as amended, matures on June 30, 2020. Interest on the term loan accrues at an annual fixed rate of 20.0% and is payable quarterly. We may prepay all or a portion of the outstanding principal and accrued unpaid interest under the Loan and Security Agreement at any time upon prior notice to Lion without penalty, other than a make-whole provision providing for a minimum of six months’ interest.

In connection with the Loan and Security Agreement, we issued to Lion a warrant to purchase up to 1,167,404 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at $0.01 per share (the “Lion Warrant”), exercisable only if the amounts outstanding under the Loan and Security Agreement are not repaid in full prior to October 1, 2019. If the Loan and Security Agreement is repaid in full prior to October 1, 2019, the Lion Warrant will terminate in its entirety.

As security for its obligations under the Loan Agreement, we granted a lien on substantially all of its assets to Lion. In addition, certain of our direct and indirect subsidiaries and affiliates entered into a Guaranty (the “Guaranty”) in favor of Lion, pursuant to which they guaranteed our obligations under the Loan and Security Agreement and granted as security for their guaranty obligations a lien on substantially all of their assets.

The Loan and Security Agreement contains customary affirmative and negative covenants, including covenants that limit or restrict our ability to, among other things, incur other indebtedness, grant liens, merge or consolidate, dispose of assets, pay dividends or make distributions, in each case subject to customary exceptions. The Loan and Security Agreement also includes customary events of default that include, among other things, non-payment, inaccuracy of representations and warranties, covenant breaches, events that result in a material adverse effect (as defined in the Loan and Security Agreement), cross default to other material indebtedness, bankruptcy, insolvency and material judgments. The occurrence and continuance of an event of default could result in the acceleration of our obligations under the Loan and Security Agreement and an increase in the interest rate by 5.0% per annum.

On June 19, 2019, we amended our existing loan facility with Lion. We entered into a First Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement (the “First Amendment”), which amends the Loan and Security Agreement originally dated January 29, 2019. Pursuant to the First Amendment, we increased our borrowings by $3,500,000 in order to fund the Elevation Buyer Note in connection with the acquisition of Elevation, acquire other assets and pay fees and expenses of the transactions. The First Amendment also added the acquired Elevation-related entities as guarantors and loan parties.

Subsequent to the quarter end, on July 24, 2019, we entered into a first amendment to the Lion Warrant, which extends the date on which the Lion Warrant was initially exercisable from October 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020, which coincides with the maturity date of the loan made under the Loan and Security Agreement. The Lender Warrant is only exercisable if the amounts outstanding under the Loan Agreement are not repaid in full prior to the extended Exercise Date.

We agreed to pay Lion an extension fee of $500,000 in the form of an increase in the principal amount loaned under the Loan and Security Agreement, and on July 24, 2019 entered into a second amendment to the Loan Agreement (the “Second Amendment”) to reflect this increase. Under the Second Amendment, the parties also agreed to amend the Loan and Security Agreement to provide for a late fee of $400,000 payable if we fail to make any quarterly interest payment by the fifth business day after the end of each fiscal quarter beginning in the third quarter of 2019.

Capital Expenditures

As of June 30, 2019, we do not have any material commitments for capital expenditures.

Fiscal Years Ended December 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017

Our cash balance was $653,000 as of December 30, 2018, compared to $32,000 as of December 31, 2017.

The following table summarize key components of our consolidated cash flows for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2018 and for the period beginning March 21, 2017 (inception) through December 31, 2017, which includes the consolidated operating results of Fatburger, Buffalo’s and Ponderosa for the period from October 20, 2017 (acquisition) through December 31, 2017. Because 2017 consisted of only a partial year of operations, meaningful comparisons with the 2018 fiscal year cannot be made:

(In thousands)

For the Fiscal Years Ended

Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities increased $338,000 in 2018 compared to the 2017 Fiscal Year. There were variations in the components of the cash from operations between the two periods. Our net loss in 2018 was $1,798,000 compared to a net loss in the 2017 Fiscal Year of $613,000. The adjustments to reconcile these net losses to net cash provided were $3,635,000 in 2018 compared to $2,112,000 in the 2017 Fiscal Year. The primary components of the adjustments included:

Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities decreased by $2,779,000 in 2018 compared to 2017 based on the relative size of the cash portion of the purchase price of the Ponderosa and Bonanza acquisition in 2017 compared to the Hurricane and Yalla acquisition in 2018.

Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities decreased by $2,528,000 in 2018 compared to 2017. During 2017, our net cash provided by financing activities included the net proceeds of our initial public offering offset by the repayment of certain related party loans. During 2018, our net cash provided by financing activities was comprised of net proceeds from the issuance of the mandatorily redeemable Series A Preferred shares and the term loan offset by the repayment of certain related party borrowings and the preferred capital investment in Homestyle Dining LLC.

Dividends

Our Board of Directors declared a stock dividend on February 7, 2019 equal to 2.13% on its common stock, representing the number of shares equal to $0.12 per share of common stock based on the closing price as of February 6, 2019. The stock dividend was paid on February 28, 2019 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 19, 2019. The Company issued 245,376 shares of common stock at a per share price of $5.64 in satisfaction of the dividend. No fractional shares were issued, instead the Company paid stockholders cash totaling $1,670 for fractional interests based on the market value of the common stock on the record date.

Our Board of Directors declared three cash dividends of $0.12 per share of common stock, each payable on April 16, 2018, July 16, 2018 and October 31, 2018.

On each dividend payment date, FCCG elected to reinvest all, or a significant portion of, its dividend from its common shares of the Company at the closing market price of the shares on the payment date. As a result:

The declaration and payment of future dividends, as well as the amount thereof, are subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors. The amount and size of any future dividends will depend upon our future results of operations, financial condition, capital levels, cash requirements and other factors. There can be no assurance that we will declare and pay dividends in future periods.

Term Loan

On July 3, 2018, the Company as borrower, and certain of the Company’s direct and indirect subsidiaries and affiliates as guarantors, entered into a new Loan and Security Agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with FB Lending, LLC (the “Lender”). Pursuant to the Loan Agreement, the Company borrowed $16.0 million in a term loan (“Term Loan”) from the Lender. The Company used a portion of the loan proceeds to fund (i) the cash payment of $8.0 million to the members of Hurricane and closing costs in connection with the acquisition of Hurricane, and (ii) to repay borrowings of $2.0 million plus interest and fees. The Company used the remaining proceeds for general working capital purposes.

On January 29, 2019, the Company refinanced the Term Loan. The Company as borrower, and its subsidiaries and affiliates as guarantors, entered into a new Loan and Security Agreement (the “Loan and Security Agreement”) with The Lion Fund, L.P. and The Lion Fund II, L.P. (“Lion”). Pursuant to the Loan and Security Agreement, the Company borrowed $20.0 million from Lion, and utilized the proceeds to repay the existing $16.0 million term loan from FB Lending, LLC plus accrued interest and fees, and provide additional general working capital to the Company.

The loan under the Loan and Security Agreement matures on June 30, 2020. Interest on the term loan accrues at an annual fixed rate of 20.0% and is payable quarterly. The Company may prepay all or a portion of the outstanding principal and accrued unpaid interest under the Loan and Security Agreement at any time upon prior notice to Lion without penalty, other than a make-whole provision providing for a minimum of six months’ interest.

In connection with the Loan and Security Agreement, the Company issued to Lion a warrant to purchase up to 1,167,404 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at $0.00979 per share (the “Lion Warrant”), exercisable only if the amounts outstanding under the Loan and Security Agreement are not repaid in full prior to October 1, 2019. If the Loan and Security Agreement is repaid in full prior to October 1, 2019, the Lion Warrant will terminate in its entirety.

As security for its obligations under the Loan Agreement, the Company granted a lien on substantially all of its assets to Lion. In addition, certain of the Company’s direct and indirect subsidiaries and affiliates entered into a Guaranty (the “Guaranty”) in favor of Lion, pursuant to which they guaranteed the obligations of the Company under the Loan and Security Agreement and granted as security for their guaranty obligations a lien on substantially all of their assets.

The Loan and Security Agreement contains customary affirmative and negative covenants, including covenants that limit or restrict the Company’s ability to, among other things, incur other indebtedness, grant liens, merge or consolidate, dispose of assets, pay dividends or make distributions, in each case subject to customary exceptions. The Loan and Security Agreement also includes customary events of default that include, among other things, non-payment, inaccuracy of representations and warranties, covenant breaches, events that result in a material adverse effect (as defined in the Loan and Security Agreement), cross default to other material indebtedness, bankruptcy, insolvency and material judgments. The occurrence and continuance of an event of default could result in the acceleration of the Company’s obligations under the Loan and Security Agreement and an increase in the interest rate by 5.0% per annum.

Capital Expenditures

As of June 30, 2019, we do not have any material commitments for capital expenditures.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Royalties: In addition to franchise fee and store opening fee revenue, we collect a royalty calculated as a percentage of net sales from our franchisees. Royalties range from 0.75% to 6% and are recognized as revenue when the related sales are made by the franchisees. Royalties are recognized as revenue when the related sales are made by the franchisees. Royalties collected in advance of sales are classified as deferred income until earned.

Franchise Fees: Franchise fee revenue from the sale of individual franchises is recognized over the term of the individual franchise agreement. Unamortized non-refundable deposits collected in relation to the sale of franchises are recorded as deferred franchise fees.

The franchise fee may be adjusted at management’s discretion or in a situation involving store transfers. Deposits are non-refundable upon acceptance of the franchise application. In the event a franchisee does not comply with their development timeline for opening franchise stores, the franchise rights may be terminated, and franchise fee revenue is recognized for non-refundable deposits.

Store opening fees: We recognize store opening fees from $35,000 to $60,000 depending on brand and domestic versus international stores, from the up-front fees collected from franchisees. The remaining balance of the up-front fees are then amortized as franchise fees over the life of the franchise agreement. If the fees collected are less than the respective store opening fee amounts, the full up-front fees are recognized at opening. The store opening fees are based on our out-of-pocket costs for each store opening and are primarily comprised of labor expenses associated with training, store design, and supply chain setup. International fees recognized are higher due to the additional cost of travel.

The store opening fee may be adjusted at management’s discretion or in a situation involving store transfers. Deposits are non-refundable upon acceptance of the franchise application. In the event a franchisee does not comply with their development timeline for opening franchise stores, the franchise rights may be terminated, and store opening fee revenue is recognized for non-refundable deposits.

Advertising: We require advertising payments based on a percent of net sales from franchisees. We also receive, from time to time, payments from vendors that are to be used for advertising. Advertising funds collected are required to be spent for specific advertising purposes. Advertising revenue and associated expense is recorded on the statement of operations. Assets and liabilities associated with the related advertising fees are consolidated on the Company’s balance sheet.

Goodwill and other intangible assets: Goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite lives, such as trademarks, are not amortized but are reviewed for impairment annually, or more frequently if indicators arise. No impairment has been identified as of June 30, 2019.

Assets classified as held for sale: Assets are classified as held for sale when we commit to a plan to sell the asset, the asset is available for immediate sale in its present condition and an active program to locate a buyer at a reasonable price has been initiated. The sale of these assets is generally expected to be completed within one year. The combined assets are valued at the lower of their carrying amount or fair value, net of costs to sell and included as current assets on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet, net of related liabilities. Assets classified as held for sale are not depreciated. However, interest and other expenses attributable to the liabilities associated with assets classified as held for sale continue to be accrued.

Income taxes: We account for income taxes under the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between financial reporting and tax reporting bases of assets and liabilities and are measured using enacted tax rates and laws that are expected to be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. Realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon future earnings, the timing and amount of which are uncertain.

We utilize a two-step approach to recognize and measure uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon tax authority examination, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon the ultimate settlement.

Share-based compensation: We have a stock option plan which provides for options to purchase shares of our common stock. For grants to employees and directors, we recognize an expense for the value of options granted at their fair value at the date of grant over the vesting period in which the options are earned. Cancellations or forfeitures are accounted for as they occur. Fair values are estimated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. For grants to non-employees for services, we revalue the options each reporting period while the services are being performed. The adjusted value of the options is recognized as an expense over the service period. See Note 15 in our consolidated financial statements for more details on our share-based compensation.

Use of estimates: The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reported periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-07, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting. The amendments in this update expand the scope of Topic 718 to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from nonemployees. Prior to this update, Topic 718 applied only to share-based transactions to employees. Consistent with the accounting requirements for employee share-based payment awards, nonemployee share-based payment awards within the scope of Topic 718 are measured at grant-date fair value of the equity instruments that an entity is obligated to issue when the good has been delivered or the service has been rendered and any other conditions necessary to earn the right to benefit from the instruments have been satisfied. The Company adopted Topic 718 on December 31, 2018. The adoption of this accounting standard did not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-09, Codification Improvements. This ASU makes amendments to multiple codification Topics. The transition and effective date guidance is based on the facts and circumstances of each amendment. Some of the amendments in this ASU do not require transition guidance and will be effective upon issuance of this ASU. The Company adopted ASU 2018-09 on December 31, 2018. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, and disclosures.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), requiring a lessee to recognize on the balance sheet the assets and liabilities for the rights and obligations created by those leases with a lease term of more than twelve months. Leases will continue to be classified as either financing or operating, with classification affecting the recognition, measurement and presentation of expenses and cash flows arising from a lease. This ASU is effective for interim and annual period beginning after December 15, 2018 and requires a modified retrospective approach to adoption for lessees related to capital and operating leases existing at, or entered into after, the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements, with certain practical expedients available. The adoption of this standard on December 31, 2018 resulted in the Company recording Right of Use Assets and Lease Liabilities on its consolidated financial statements in the amount of $4,313,000 and $4,225,000, respectively. The adoption of this standard did not have a significant effect on the amount of lease expense recognized by the Company.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement.” This ASU adds, modifies and removes several disclosure requirements relative to the three levels of inputs used to measure fair value in accordance with Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurement.” This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within that fiscal year. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the effect that this ASU will have on its financial position, results of operations, and disclosures.

The FASB issued ASU No. 2018-15, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other-Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40). The new guidance reduces complexity for the accounting for costs of implementing a cloud computing service arrangement and aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software (and hosting arrangements that include an internal use software license). For public companies, the amendments in this ASU are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted. Implementation should be applied either retrospectively or prospectively to all implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption. The effects of this standard on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows are not expected to be material.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

As of June 30, 2019 and December 30, 2018, we had no off-balance sheet arrangements.

BUSINESS

FAT Brands Inc., formed in March 2017, is a leading multi-brand restaurant franchising company that develops, markets, and acquires predominantly fast casual restaurant concepts around the world. As a franchisor, we generally do not own or operate restaurant locations, but rather generate revenue by charging franchisees initial up-front fees as well as ongoing royalties. This asset light franchisor model provides the opportunity for strong profit margins and an attractive free cash flow profile while minimizing restaurant operating company risk, such as long-term real estate commitments or capital investments. Our scalable management platform enables us to add new stores and restaurant concepts to our portfolio with minimal incremental corporate overhead cost, while taking advantage of significant corporate overhead synergies. The acquisition of additional brands and restaurant concepts as well as expansion of our existing brands are key elements of our growth strategy.

As of the date of this Offering Circular, we were the owner and franchisor of the following restaurant brands:

Fatburger. Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1947, Fatburger (The Last Great Hamburger Stand^TM) has, throughout its history, maintained its reputation as an iconic, all-American, Hollywood favorite hamburger restaurant serving a variety of freshly made-to-order, customizable, big, juicy, and tasty Fatburgers, Turkeyburgers, Chicken Sandwiches, Impossible™ Burgers, Veggieburgers, French fries, onion rings, soft-drinks and milkshakes. With a legacy spanning over 70 years, Fatburger’s dedication to superior quality inspires robust loyalty amongst its customer base and has long appealed to American cultural and social leaders. We have counted many celebrities and athletes as past franchisees and customers, and we believe this prestige has been a principal driver of the brand’s strong growth. Fatburger offers a premier dining experience, demonstrating the same dedication to serving gourmet, homemade, custom-built burgers as it has since 1947. As of June 30, 2019, there were 164 franchised and sub-franchised Fatburger locations across 6 states and 18 countries.

Buffalo’s Cafe. Established in Roswell, Georgia in 1985, Buffalo’s Cafe (Where Everyone is Family^TM) is a family-themed casual dining concept known for its chicken wings and 13 distinctive homemade wing sauces, burgers, wraps, steaks, salads and other classic American cuisine. Featuring a full bar and table service, Buffalo’s Cafe offers a distinctive dining experience affording friends and family the flexibility to share an intimate dinner together or to casually watch sporting events while enjoying extensive menu offerings. Beginning in 2011, Buffalo’s Express was developed and launched within the Buffalo’s Cafe brand as a fast-casual, smaller footprint variant of Buffalo’s Café, offering a limited version of the full menu with an emphasis on chicken wings, wraps and salads. Current Buffalo’s Express outlets are co-branded with Fatburger locations, providing our franchisees with complementary concepts that share kitchen space and result in a higher average unit volume (compared to stand-alone Fatburger locations). As of June 30, 2019, there were 17 franchised Buffalo’s Cafe and 92 co-branded Fatburger / Buffalo’s Express locations globally.

Ponderosa & Bonanza Steakhouse. Ponderosa Steakhouse, founded in 1965, and Bonanza Steakhouse, founded in 1963 (collectively, “Ponderosa”), offer the quintessential American steakhouse experience, for which there is strong and growing demand in international markets, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses offer guests a high-quality buffet and broad array of great tasting, affordably-priced steak, chicken and seafood entrées. Buffets at Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses feature a large variety of all you can eat salads, soups, appetizers, vegetables, breads, hot main courses and desserts. An additional variation of the brand, Bonanza Steak & BBQ, offers a full-service steakhouse with fresh farm-to-table salad bar and a menu showcase of USDA flame-grilled steaks and house-smoked BBQ, with contemporized interpretations of traditional American classics. As of June 30, 2019, there were 83 Ponderosa and 14 Bonanza restaurants operating under franchise and sub-franchise agreements in 16 states and 5 countries.

Hurricane Grill & Wings. Founded in Fort Pierce, Florida in 1995, Hurricane Grill & Wings is a tropical beach themed casual dining restaurant known for its fresh, jumbo, chicken wings, 35 signature sauces, burgers, bowls, tacos, salads and sides. Featuring a full bar and table service, Hurricane Grill & Wings laid-back, casual, atmosphere affords family and friends the flexibility to enjoy dining experiences together regardless of the occasion. The acquisition of Hurricane Grill & Wings has been complementary to FAT Brands existing portfolio chicken wing brands, Buffalo’s Cafe and Buffalo’s Express. As of June 30, 2019, there were 55 franchised Hurricane Grill & Wings and 3 franchised Hurricane BTWs (Hurricane’s fast-casual burgers, tacos & wings concept), across 8 states.

Yalla Mediterranean. Founded in 2014, Yalla Mediterranean is a Los Angeles-based restaurant chain specializing in authentic, healthful, Mediterranean cuisine with an environmentally conscience and focus on sustainability. The word “yalla” which means “let’s go” is embraced in every aspect of Yalla Mediterranean’s culture and is a key component of our concept. Yalla Mediterranean offers a healthful Mediterranean menu of wraps, plates, and bowls in a fast-casual setting, with cuisine prepared fresh daily using, GMO-free, local ingredients for a menu that includes vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free options accommodating customers with a wide variety of dietary needs and preferences. The brand demonstrates its commitment to the environment by using responsibly-sourced proteins and utensils, bowls and serving trays made from compostable materials. Each of Yalla’s seven locations across California also feature on-tap selections of craft beers and fine wines. We intend to sell all of the existing Yalla locations to franchisees and expand the business through additional franchising.

Elevation Burger. Established in Northern Virginia in 2002, Elevation Burger is a fast-casual burger, fries, and shakes chain that provides its customers with healthier, “elevated” food options. Serving grass-fed beef, organic chicken, and French fries cooked using a proprietary olive oil-based frying method, Elevation maintains environmentally-friendly operating practices including responsible sourcing of ingredients, robust recycling programs intended to reduce carbon footprint, and store décor constructed of eco-friendly materials. The acquisition of Elevation Burger in June 2019 aligns with our corporate mission of providing fresh, authentic and tasty products to the customers of our franchisees and complements our existing burger brand, Fatburger. As of June 30, 2019, there were 43 franchised Elevation Burger stores located in 8 states plus the District of Columbia and 4 countries.

Systemwide, across all of the Company’s brands, store level sales approximated $100 million in the second quarter of 2019.

Beyond our current brand portfolio, we intend to acquire other restaurant franchise concepts that will allow us to offer additional food categories and expand our geographic footprint. In evaluating potential acquisitions, we specifically seek concepts with the following characteristics:

Leveraging our scalable management platform, we expect to achieve cost synergies post-acquisition by reducing the corporate overhead of the acquired company – most notably in the legal, accounting and finance functions. We also plan to grow the top line revenues of newly acquired brands through support from our management and systems platform, including public relations, marketing and advertising, supply chain assistance, site selection analysis, staff training and operational oversight and support.

Our franchisee base consisted of 194 franchisees as of June 30, 2019. Of these franchisees, 157 operate in North America and 46 own multiple restaurant locations. Our franchisees operated a total of 381 restaurants as of June 30, 2019, 300 of which were located in North America. As of June 30, 2019, we had commitments for development of over 200 new units which remain to be completed. 

The FAT Brands Difference – Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.

Our name represents the values that we embrace as a company and the food that we provide to customers – Fresh. Authentic. Tasty (which we refer to as “FAT”). The success of our franchisor model is tied to consistent delivery by our restaurant operators of freshly prepared, made-to-order food that our customers desire. With the input of our customers and franchisees, we continually strive to keep a fresh perspective on our brands by enhancing our existing menu offerings and introducing appealing new menu items. When enhancing our offerings, we ensure that any changes are consistent with the core identity and attributes of our brands, although we do not intend to adapt our brands to be all things to all people. In conjunction with our restaurant operators (which means the individuals who manage and/or own our franchised restaurants), we are committed to delivering authentic, consistent brand experiences that have strong brand identity with customers. Ultimately, we understand that we are only as good as the last meal served, and we are dedicated to having our franchisees consistently deliver tasty, high-quality food and positive guest experiences in their restaurants.

In pursuing acquisitions and entering new restaurant brands, we are committed to instilling our FAT Brands values into new restaurant concepts. As our restaurant portfolio continues to grow, we believe that both our franchisees and diners will recognize and value this ongoing commitment as they enjoy a wider concept offering.

Competitive Strengths

We believe that our competitive strengths include:

Growth Strategy

The principal elements of our growth strategy include:

Franchise Program – FAT Brands

General. We utilize a franchise development strategy as our primary method for new store growth by leveraging the interest of our existing franchisees and those potential franchisees with an entrepreneurial spirit looking to launch their own business. We have a rigorous franchisee qualification and selection process to ensure that each franchisee meets our strict brand standards.

Fatburger Franchise Agreements. For Fatburger locations, the current franchise agreement provides for initial up-front fees of $50,000 per store ($65,000 per store internationally) and a royalty fee of 2% to 6% of net sales on a 15-year term. For 2018, the average royalty rate was 4.9%. In addition, the franchisee must also pay an advertising fee of approximately 3% of net sales on local marketing and approximately 1% of net sales on international marketing.

Buffalo’s Franchise Agreements. For Buffalo’s Cafe and Buffalo’s Express locations, the current franchise agreement provides for initial up-front fees of $50,000 per store and a royalty fee of 2.5% to 6% of net sales on a 15-year term. For 2018, the average royalty rate was 3.9%. In addition, the Buffalo’s Cafe franchisee agrees to pay an advertising fee of 2% of net sales on local marketing and 2% of net sales to the Buffalo’s Cafe advertising fund. For Buffalo’s Express locations, the franchisee pays approximately 1% of net sales on local store marketing and approximately 3% of net sales to the Buffalo’s Express advertising fund.

Ponderosa / Bonanza Franchise Agreements. For Ponderosa locations, the current franchise agreement provides for initial up-front fees of $40,000 per store and a royalty fee of 0.75% to 4% of net sales on a 15-year term. For 2018, the average royalty rate was 2.6%. In addition, currently franchisees are paying approximately 0.5% of net sales to a pooled advertising fund. For Bonanza locations, the current franchise agreement provides for initial up-front fees of $40,000 per store and a royalty fee of 0.75% to 4% of net sales on a 15-year term. For 2018, the average royalty rate was 2.1%. In addition, currently franchisees are paying approximately 0.5% of net sales to a pooled advertising fund.

Hurricane Franchise Agreements. For Hurricane locations, the current franchise agreement provides for initial up-front fees of $50,000 per store and a royalty fee of 6% of net sales on a 15-year term. For 2018, the average royalty rate was 4.2%. In addition, the franchisee must also pay an advertising fee of 2% of net sales to a pooled advertising fund.

Yalla Mediterranean Franchise Agreements. Prior to our acquisition of Yalla Mediterranean in December 2018, the brand did not have a franchising program. We are currently in the process of converting the seven existing Yalla restaurants to franchise locations and developing a worldwide franchising effort similar to those of our other brands.

Development Agreements. We use development agreements to facilitate the planned expansion of Fatburger and Buffalo’s restaurants through single and multiple unit development. During 2018, almost all of our new Fatburger and Buffalo’s openings occurred as a result of existing development agreements. Each development agreement gives a developer the exclusive right to construct, own and operate Fatburger or Buffalo’s stores within a defined area. In exchange, the franchisee agrees to open a minimum number of stores in the area in a prescribed time period. Franchisees that enter into development agreements are required to pay a fee, which is credited against franchise fees due when the store is opened in the future. Franchisees may forfeit such fees and lose their rights to future development if they do not maintain the required schedule of openings.

Franchisee Support – FAT Brands

Marketing

Our Fresh, Authentic and Tasty values are the anchor that inspires our marketing efforts. Our resolve to maintain our premium positioning, derived from the FAT Brands’ values, is reinforced by our management platform, capital light business model, experienced and diverse global franchisee network and seasoned and passionate management team. Although our marketing and advertising programs are concept-specific, we believe that our patrons appreciate the value of their experiences visiting our establishments and, thus, the core of our marketing strategy is to engage and dialogue with customers at our restaurant locations as well as through social media.

Our Fresh, Authentic and Tasty values are an invitation for our guests to align with FAT Brands’ commitment to consistently deliver freshly prepared, made-to-order food that customers desire. We are dedicated to keeping a fresh perspective on our concepts, perfecting our existing menu offerings as well as introducing appealing new items. We ensure that any changes are consistent with the core identity of our brands, and we will not adapt our brands to be all things to all people.

Our marketing initiatives include a robust mix of local community marketing, in-store campaigns, product placements, partnerships, promotions, social media, influencer marketing, traditional media and word of mouth advertising. Corresponding with the evolutionary shift in how customers receive content and engage with media and brands today, we have also dramatically increased our focus on mobile, social, and digital advertising to leverage the content we generate from public relations and experiential marketing in order to better connect with customers, sharing information about new menu offerings, promotions, new store openings and other relevant FAT Brands information. Currently, across our brands, we have over 17,500 Twitter followers, 75,000 Instagram followers and over 1,000,000 Facebook likes. We communicate with customers in creative and organic ways that fortify our connections with them and increase brand awareness.

Site Selection and Development.

Our franchisees work alongside our franchise development department during the search, review, leasing and development process for a new restaurant location. Typically, it takes between 60 and 90 days from the time we sign an agreement with a franchisee until that franchisee signs a lease. When selecting a location, our team assists franchisees in seeking locations with the following site characteristics:

Supply Chain Assistance

FAT Brands has always been committed to seeking out and working with best-in-class suppliers and distribution networks. Our Fresh, Authentic and Tasty vision guides us in how we source and develop our ingredients, always looking for the best ways to provide top quality food that is as competitively priced as possible for our franchisees and customers. We utilize a third-party purchasing and consulting company that provides distribution, rebate collection, product negotiations, audits and sourcing services focusing on negotiating distributor, vendor and manufacturer contracts, thereby ensuring that our brands receive meaningful buying power for our franchisees. Our Supply Chain team has developed a reliable supply chain and continues to focus on identifying additional back-ups to avoid any possible interruption of service and product globally. We have a regional strategy for ground beef supply to ensure that we are always serving our proprietary blend of freshly ground and never frozen beef in our stores in the continental United States. Internationally, we utilize the same strategy market-by-market in each country in which our franchisees operate. Only when a fresh never frozen beef option is unavailable do we procure frozen beef, which is then freshly ground in stores. Domestically, we have the same, Southern California based, beef supplier for all of our U.S. Fatburger locations. We have the same, South East United States based, beef supplier for Buffalo’s Cafe. Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses utilize contracted beef suppliers as does our Hurricane brand. Internationally, we have a select group of beef suppliers providing product to our franchisees market-by-market for each brand. We utilize the same procurement strategies for our poultry (chicken and turkey), veggie, hotdog and Mediterranean offerings.

Domestically, FAT Brands has distribution agreements with broadline national distributors as well as regional providers. Internationally, our franchisees have distribution agreements with different providers market-by-market. We utilize distribution centers operated by our distributors. Our broadline national distributors are the main purchasing link in the United States among many of our suppliers, and distribute most of our dry, refrigerated and frozen goods, non-alcoholic beverages, paper goods and cleaning supplies. Internationally, distributors are also used to provide the majority of products to our franchisees.

Food Safety and Quality Assurance. Food safety is a top priority of FAT Brands. As such, we maintain rigorous safety standards for our menu offerings. We have carefully selected preferred suppliers that adhere to our safety standards, and our franchisees are required to source their ingredients from these approved suppliers. Furthermore, our commitment to food safety is strengthened through the direct relationship between our Supply Chain and Field Consultant Assistance teams.

Management Information Systems. FAT Brands restaurants utilize a variety of back-office, computerized and manual, point-of-sale systems and tools, which we believe are scalable to support our growth plans. We utilize these systems following a multi-faceted approach to monitor restaurants operational performance, food safety, quality control, customer feedback and profitability.

The point-of-sale systems are designed specifically for the restaurant industry and we use many customized features to evaluate and increase operational performance, provide data analysis, marketing promotional tracking, guest and table management, high-speed credit card and gift card processing, daily transaction data, daily sales information, product mix, average transaction size, order modes, revenue centers and other key business intelligence data. Utilizing these point-of-sale systems back-end, web-based, enterprise level, software solution dashboards, our home office and Franchise Operations Consultant Support staff are provided with real-time access to detailed business data which allows for our home office and Franchise Operations Consultant Support staff to closely, and remotely, monitor stores performance and assist in providing focused and timely support to our franchisees. Furthermore, these systems supply sales, bank deposit and variance data to our accounting department on a daily basis, and we use this data to generate daily sales information and weekly consolidated reports regarding sales and other key measures for each restaurant with final reports following the end of each period.

In addition to utilizing these point-of-sale systems, FAT Brands utilizes systems which provide detailed, real-time (and historical) operational data for all locations, allowing our management team to track product inventories, equipment temperatures, repair and maintenance schedules, intra-shift team communications, consistency in following standard operating procedures and tracking of tasks. FAT Brands also utilizes a web-based employee scheduling software program providing franchisees, and their management teams, increased flexibility and awareness of scheduling needs allowing them to efficiently, and appropriately, manage their labor costs and store staffing requirements/needs. Lastly, FAT Brands utilizes a proprietary customer feedback system allowing customers to provide feedback in real-time to our entire management team, franchisees and store managers.

Field Consultant Assistance.

In conjunction with utilizing the FAT Brands Management Information Systems, FAT Brands has a team of dedicated Franchise Operations Consultant Support staff who oversee designated market areas and specific subsets of restaurants. Our Franchise Operations Consultant Support staff work in the field daily with franchisees, and their management teams, to ensure that the integrity of all FAT Brands concepts are upheld and that franchisees are utilizing the tools and systems FAT Brands requires in order to optimize and accelerate franchisee profitability. FAT Brands Franchise Operations Consultant Support staff responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

Training, Pre-Opening Assistance and Opening Support

FAT Brands offers Executive level and Operational level training programs to its franchisees, pre-opening assistance and opening assistance. Once open, FAT Brands constantly provides ongoing operational and marketing support to our franchisees by assisting their management teams in effectively operating their restaurants and increasing their stores financial profitability.

Competition

As a franchisor, our most important customers are our franchisees, who own and operate FAT Brands restaurants. Our direct competitors for franchisees include well-established national, regional or local franchisors with franchises in the geographies or restaurant segments in which we operate or in which we intend to operate.

Our franchisees compete in the fast casual and casual dining segments of the restaurant industry, a highly competitive industry in terms of price, service, location, and food quality. The restaurant industry is often affected by changes in consumer trends, economic conditions, demographics, traffic patterns, and concern about the nutritional content of fast casual foods. Furthermore, there are many well-established competitors with substantially greater financial resources, including a number of national, regional, and local fast casual, casual dining, and convenience stores. The restaurant industry also has few barriers to entry and new competitors may emerge at any time.

Seasonality

Our franchisees have not historically experienced significant seasonal variability in their financial performance.

Intellectual Property

We own, domestically and internationally, valuable intellectual property including trademarks, service marks, trade secrets and other proprietary information related to our restaurant and corporate brands. This intellectual property includes logos and trademarks which are of material importance to our business. Depending on the jurisdiction, trademarks and service marks generally are valid as long as they are used and/or registered. We seek to actively protect and defend our intellectual property from infringement and misuse.

Employees

As of June 30, 2019, our company, including our subsidiaries, employed approximately 54 people. We believe that we have good relations with our employees.

Government Regulation

U.S. Operations. Our U.S. operations are subject to various federal, state and local laws affecting our business, primarily laws and regulations concerning the franchisor/franchisee relationship, marketing, food labeling, sanitation and safety. Each of our franchised restaurants in the U.S. must comply with licensing and regulation by a number of governmental authorities, which include health, sanitation, safety, fire and zoning agencies in the state and/or municipality in which the restaurant is located. To date, we have not been materially adversely affected by such licensing and regulation or by any difficulty, delay or failure to obtain required licenses or approvals.

International Operations. Our restaurants outside the U.S. are subject to national and local laws and regulations which are similar to those affecting U.S. restaurants. The restaurants outside the U.S. are also subject to tariffs and regulations on imported commodities and equipment and laws regulating foreign investment, as well as anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws.

See “Risk Factors” for a discussion of risks relating to federal, state, local and international regulation of our business.

Legal Proceedings

The Company is a party to certain litigation arising out of its initial public offering in October 2017. For a discussion of these matters, see “Note 18. Commitments and Contingencies” to Unaudited Interim Financial Statements beginning on page F-75 of this Offering Circular, which is incorporated herein by this reference.

In addition, the Company is involved in other claims and legal proceedings from time-to-time that arise in the ordinary course of business. The Company does not believe that the ultimate resolution of these actions will have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity or capital resources.

Our Corporate Information

FAT Brands Inc. was formed as a Delaware corporation on March 21, 2017. Our corporate headquarters are located at 9720 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Beverly Hills, California 90212. Our main telephone number is (310) 319-1850. Our principal Internet website address is www.fatbrands.com. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into, or a part of, this Offering Circular.

MANAGEMENT

Below is a list of the names and ages, as of June 30, 2019, of our directors and executive officers (the “named executive officers”), and a description of the business experience of each of them.

Executive Officers and Directors

Andrew A. Wiederhorn has served as a director and President and Chief Executive Officer of FAT Brands Inc. since its formation. Mr. Wiederhorn has served as the Chairman of the board of directors and Chief Executive Officer of Fatburger North America, Inc. since 2006 and Buffalo’s Franchise Concepts, Inc. since 2011. He also served as the Chairman of the board of directors and Chief Executive Officer of Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc. since its formation in 1997. Mr. Wiederhorn previously founded and served as the Chairman of the board of directors and Chief Executive Officer of Wilshire Financial Services Group Inc. and Wilshire Credit Corporation. Mr. Wiederhorn received his B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California in 1987, with an emphasis in Finance and Entrepreneurship. He previously served on the board of directors of Fabricated Metals, Inc., The Boy Scouts of America Cascade Pacific Council, The Boys and Girls Aid Society of Oregon, University of Southern California Associates, Citizens Crime Commission of Oregon, and Economic Development Council for the City of Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Wiederhorn was featured as the Fatburger CEO on the CBS television program “Undercover Boss” in 2013. Mr. Wiederhorn was selected to our Board of Directors because of his role in our founding and long career in hospitality, and because he possesses particular knowledge and experience in strategic planning and leadership of complex organizations and hospitality businesses.

Rebecca D. Hershinger has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary since August 16, 2018. Ms. Hershinger previously served as the Chief Financial Officer of Genius Brands International, Inc., a publicly traded global children’s media company that creates and licenses animated entertainment content, from April 2016 to April 2018. She also served as the Chief Financial Officer of Genius from October 2014 through June 2015 after consulting with the company beginning in March 2014. In 2012, she founded CFO Advisory Services Inc., an accounting and business advisory services firm, headquartered in Park City, UT. From 2008 through 2012, Ms. Hershinger was Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Finance & Corporate Development for SpectrumDNA, Inc., a publicly traded, but currently inactive, social media marketing and application development company that had been located in Park City, UT. Ms. Hershinger was an independent financial consultant in San Francisco between 2007 and 2008. Ms. Hershinger was employed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. in Los Angeles, California from 1999 to 2005, holding various positions ultimately rising to the level of Vice President, Finance & Corporate Development. Between 1995 and 1998, Ms. Hershinger worked as an analyst for JP Morgan Chase & Co. in Los Angeles and New York. Ms. Hershinger received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business, in Washington, D.C. and a Masters in Business Administration from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She also completed studies at the International Finance & Comparative Business Policy Program at Oxford University, Oxford England.

Donald J. Berchtold currently serves as our Executive Vice President and Chief Concept Officer. Prior to February 20, 2018, Mr. Berchtold served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Fatburger North America. Mr. Berchtold has also served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of FCCG since 2006 and in various other positions at FCCG prior to 2006. From 1991 to 1999, Mr. Berchtold served as Senior Vice President of Wilshire Financial Services Group Inc. and its sister company Wilshire Credit Corporation. Prior to 1990, Mr. Berchtold was the owner-operator of his own business that included a dinner house, catering company and other food service concepts, and was active in the Restaurants of Oregon Association. Mr. Berchtold holds a BSC degree in Finance and Marketing from the University of Santa Clara.

Ron Roe currently serves as our Senior Vice President of Finance. Prior to August 16, 2018, Mr. Roe served as our Chief Financial Officer since 2009 and served as our Vice President of Finance from 2007 to 2009. Prior to 2007, Mr. Roe was an acquisitions associate for FCCG. He began his career as an investment banking analyst with Piper Jaffray. Mr. Roe attended UC Berkeley, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

Edward H. Rensi has served on the board of directors of FAT Brands Inc. since its formation and became Chairman of the Board on October 20, 2017. Mr. Rensi is the retired president and chief executive officer of McDonald’s USA. Prior to his retirement in 1997, Mr. Rensi devoted his entire professional career to McDonald’s, joining the company in 1966 as a “grill man” and part-time manager trainee in Columbus, Ohio. He was promoted to restaurant manager within a year, and went on to hold nearly every position in the restaurant and field offices, including franchise service positions in Columbus, Ohio and Washington, D.C. In 1972, he was named Philadelphia district manager, and later became regional manager and regional vice president. In 1978, he transferred from the field to the company’s home office in Oak Brook, Illinois, as vice president of Operations and Training, where he was responsible for personnel and product development. In 1980, he became executive vice president and chief operations officer, and was appointed senior executive vice president in 1982. Mr. Rensi was promoted to president and chief operating office of McDonald’s USA in 1984. In 1991, he was named chief executive officer. As president and chief executive officer, his responsibilities included overseeing all domestic company-owned and franchisee operations, in addition to providing direction relative to sales, profits, operations and service standards, customer satisfaction, product development, personnel, and training. Mr. Rensi was directly responsible for management of McDonald’s USA, which consisted of eight geographic zones and 40 regional offices. During his 13-year term as president, McDonald’s experienced phenomenal growth. U.S. sales doubled to more than $16 billion, the number of the U.S. restaurants grew from nearly 6,600 to more than 12,000, and the number of U.S. franchisees grew from 1,600 to more than 2,700. Since his retirement, Mr. Rensi has held consulting positions. From January 2014 to July 2015, Mr. Rensi served as director and interim CEO of Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. Mr. Rensi received his B.S. in Business Education from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Rensi was selected to our Board of Directors because of his long career in hospitality and restaurant franchising, and because he possesses particular knowledge and experience in strategic planning and leadership of complex organizations and hospitality businesses.

Marc L. Holtzman became a member of the board of directors of FAT Brands Inc. on October 20, 2017. Mr. Holtzman currently serves as a Chairman of The Bank of Kigali, Rwanda’s largest financial institution, and a director of TeleTech (NASDAQ: TTEC), the world’s leading provider of analytics-driven technology-enabled services. Following a successful transformation and sale in July 2017 of Kazkommertsbank (LSE: KKB:LI), Kazakhstan’s largest bank, Mr. Holtzman recently stepped down as Chief Executive Officer, having joined as Chairman in March 2015. He previously served as Chairman of Meridian Capital HK, a Hong Kong private equity firm. From 2012 through 2015, he served on the Board of Directors of FTI Consulting, Inc., (NYSE:FCN) a global financial and strategic consulting firm, and Sistema, Russia’s largest listed private company (London Stock Exchange). Between 2008 and 2012, Mr. Holtzman served as the executive vice chairman of Barclays Capital. From 2006 to 2008, he served as vice chairman of the investment banking division of ABN AMRO Bank. Between 1989 and 1998, Mr. Holtzman lived and worked in Eastern Europe and Russia, as co-founder and president of MeesPierson EurAmerica (a firm acquired by ABN AMRO) and as senior adviser to Salomon Brothers. Mr. Holtzman serves as a director of Sistema JSFC, (LONDON:SSA;GDR), a Russian listed investment company. Between 2003 and 2005, Mr. Holtzman was President of the University of Denver; and between 1999 and 2003 he served in the Cabinet of Governor Bill Owens as Colorado’s First Secretary of Technology. Mr. Holtzman holds a B.A. degree in Economics from Lehigh University. Mr. Holtzman was selected to our Board of Directors because he brings financial experience and possesses particular knowledge and experience in strategic planning and leadership of complex organizations.

Squire Junger became a member of the board of directors of FAT Brands Inc. on October 20, 2017. Mr. Junger is a co-founder and a managing member of Insight Consulting LLC, a management consulting firm based in the Los Angeles area, providing advice in mergers and acquisitions, corporate divestitures, business integration diagnostics, real estate investment, acquisition, development and construction and litigation support services. Prior to co-founding Insight in 2003 he was a partner at Arthur Andersen LLP, which he joined in 1972. Mr. Junger co-developed and managed the west coast Transaction Advisory Services practice at Andersen, providing comprehensive merger and acquisition consulting services to both financial and strategic buyers and sellers. Mr. Junger is a certified public accountant in California, and received Bachelor of Science and M.B.A. degrees from Cornell University. Mr. Junger was selected to our Board of Directors because he brings substantial expertise in financial and strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, and leadership of complex organizations.

Silvia Kessel became a member of the board of directors of FAT Brands Inc. on October 20, 2017. Ms. Kessel is Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Metromedia Company. Metromedia Company is a management and investment company founded by the late John W. Kluge, which manages and invests in a variety of industries, including medical research, restaurants and outdoor visual displays. Ms. Kessel has served in various executive positions at Metromedia Company and affiliated companies since 1984. Ms. Kessel has previously served as a director of LDDS Communications Inc. (and its successor) (1993-1996), Orion Pictures (1993-1997), AboveNet/Metromedia Fiber Network (1997-2001), Big City Radio (1997-2002), and Liquid Audio (1998-2002), and served on the Board of Governors and Competition Committee of Major League Soccer (1996-2001). Ms. Kessel attended the University of Miami and received an MBA in Finance from Columbia University. From 1981 to 1988, Ms. Kessel taught Finance at Pace University. Ms. Kessel was selected to our Board of Directors because she brings substantial expertise in finance, financial and strategic planning, complex transactions and leadership of complex organizations.

Jeff Lotman became a member of the board of directors of FAT Brands Inc. on October 20, 2017. Mr. Lotman is the Chief Executive Officer of Global Icons, LLC, a company which he founded in 1998. Global Icons is a premier brand licensing agency specializing in the development and extension of corporate brands and trademarks. Prior to launching Global Icons, Mr. Lotman was Chief Operating Officer for Keystone Foods, a multi-billion dollar manufacturing company that developed and supplied food products for companies such as McDonald’s and Kraft. Mr. Lotman guided the international expansion of Keystone Foods and established manufacturing and distribution operations in over a dozen countries. Mr. Lotman has been a featured guest speaker at many leading industry events, including Entertainment Marketing Conference, Young Presidents’ Organization, SPLICE, Licensing Show, Restaurant Industry Conference, LA Roadshow, UCLA and others. He has also been profiled numerous times, including in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall St. Journal, CNBC, and FOX. He is a distinguished member of the Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) and the Licensing Executives Society (LES). Mr. Lotman received a B.A. degree in Business and Marketing from Curry College. Mr. Lotman was selected to our board of directors because he brings substantial expertise in retail marketing, branding and licensing opportunities for consumer brands.

James Neuhauser has served on the board of directors of FAT Brands Inc. since its formation. Mr. Neuhauser is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Capital Markets Group of Stifel Nicolas & Company. Mr. Neuhauser is also the Managing Member of Turtlerock Capital, LLC, a company that finances and invests in real estate development projects. He previously worked for FBR & Co. for more than 24 years, including positions as Chief Investment Officer, Head of Investment Banking and Head of the Real Estate and Financial Services groups in Investment Banking through October 2016. He also served as Head of FBR’s Commitment Committee and was a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Prior to joining FBR, Mr. Neuhauser was a Senior Vice President of Trident Financial Corporation for seven years, where he specialized in managing stock offerings for mutual to stock conversions of thrift institutions. Before joining Trident, he worked in commercial banking with the Bank of New England. Mr. Neuhauser is a CFA charter holder and a member of the Society of Financial Analysts. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan. Mr. Neuhauser was selected to our Board of Directors because he brings substantial expertise in financial and strategic planning, investment banking complex financial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and leadership of complex organizations.

Family Relationships

Donald J. Berchtold is the former father-in-law of our Chief Executive Officer, Andrew A. Wiederhorn.

Past Legal Proceedings involving Mr. Wiederhorn

Mr. Wiederhorn, our President/Chief Executive Officer and director, was formerly the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wilshire Financial Services Group (“WFSG”), founded in 1987, and its affiliate Wilshire Credit Corporation (“WCC”), founded in 1989. In 1998, WFSG’s primary business was acquiring and syndicating interests in portfolios of loans, many of which were non-performing or underperforming. WCC’s primary business was servicing the portfolios of loans for WFSG subsidiaries and others. In addition, Donald J. Berchtold, President and Chief Operating Officer of our Fatburger subsidiary, previously served as senior vice president of WCC.

In 1998, a crisis in the international debt markets severely affected WFSG’s business and created a cash-flow crisis that required WFSG and WCC to renegotiate borrowing relationships with their lenders, including many Wall Street firms and WFSG and WCC’s primary lender Capital Consultants, Inc. (“CCI”), an investment advisor and money-manager for private individuals and union pensions. In addition to their borrower-lender relationship, on occasion WCC and WFSG would acquire underperforming loans from CCI. In connection with the acquisition of one such loan, with a face value of approximately $3,400,000, WCC required that CCI’s principal personally guarantee repayment. In October 1998, during negotiations to modify their borrowing relationship, CCI’s principal demanded that WCC release him from this personal guaranty as a condition to any re-negotiation. Following consultation and approval of outside corporate counsel, who served both WFSG and WCC, WCC acquiesced in this demand.

In September 2000, CCI was placed in receivership by the SEC and Department of Labor for improper handling of ERISA funds, finding that CCI’s principal’s mismanagement resulted in significant losses to the private individuals and union pension funds CCI was managing. During the subsequent investigation by federal authorities, it was argued by federal authorities that WCC’s release of the loan guarantee given by CCI’s principal was a violation of 18 USC §1954, a federal ERISA statute that prohibits giving an improper benefit to a pension fund advisor. The government further argued that the advice of legal counsel and other professionals, which WCC received at the time, was not a defense to a violation of the statute, and that it was irrelevant that WCC was unaware that it had violated the statute. Because Mr. Wiederhorn was the CEO of WCC, the government viewed him as responsible for WCC’s violation of the statute and thereafter pursued criminal charges against Mr. Wiederhorn for violation of the statute.

In an effort to recover the losses sustained by CCI’s mismanagement of funds, the individuals and union pensions initiated multiple lawsuits against WCC, Mr. Wiederhorn, Mr. Berchtold, and other officers of WCC. These lawsuits asserted allegations against Mr. Wiederhorn, including breach of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), participation in a fiduciary breach under ERISA, knowing participation in a prohibited transaction under ERISA, knowing transfer of assets under ERISA, and other claims. Following a consolidated mediation of the CCI Lawsuits, the claims against most of the defendants and third-party defendants, including Mr. Wiederhorn, were settled for a total of approximately $120,000,000, of which WFSG, WCC, certain of their officers, directors and shareholders, including Mr. Wiederhorn and FCCG, agreed to pay in the aggregate $45,000,000.

In connection with these matters, in 2004 Mr. Wiederhorn pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return and one count of violating 18 USC §1954 by causing WCC to release the loan guarantee given by CCI’s principal, which was an improper benefit to such person. He served a 14-month sentence in 2004-2005 and paid $2.0 million in fines and restitutions. Also, in November 1998, WFSG underwent a pre-packaged bankruptcy (WCC was merged into WFSG as part of the process), from which it emerged in 1999.

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a written code of business ethics that applies to our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions. We have posted a current copy of the code under the Corporate Governance section of our website at https://ir.fatbrands.com. In addition, we intend to post on our website all disclosures that are required by law or the NASDAQ listing standards concerning any amendments to, or waivers from, any provision of the code.

Board Committees

During 2018, our Board of Directors held four meetings.

The following table sets forth the three standing committees of our Board and the members of each committee and the number of meetings held by our Board of Directors and the committees during 2018:

To assist it in carrying out its duties, the Board of Directors has delegated certain authority to an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee and a Nominating and Governance Committee, the functions of which are described below.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee is responsible for, among other matters:

Our Audit Committee is comprised of Mr. Junger, Ms. Kessel and Mr. Neuhauser, with Mr. Neuhauser serving as the chair. Our board of directors has affirmatively determined that each member of the Audit Committee meets the definition of “independent director” for purposes of serving on an audit committee under Rule 10A-3 and NASDAQ rules. In addition, our board of directors has determined that both Ms. Kessel and Mr. Neuhauser qualify as an “audit committee financial expert,” as such term is defined in Item 407(d)(5) of Regulation S-K.

The Board of Directors adopted a charter for the Audit Committee on October 19, 2017. A copy of the Audit Committee charter is available in the Corporate Governance section of our website at https://ir.fatbrands.com. The Audit Committee reviews and reassesses the adequacy of the charter on an annual basis.

Compensation Committee

Our compensation committee is comprised of Mr. Rensi, Mr. Neuhauser and Mr. Holtzman, with Mr. Holtzman serving as the chair. Our Compensation Committee’s main functions are assisting our Board of Directors in discharging its responsibilities relating to the compensation of outside directors, the Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers, as well as administering any stock incentive plans we may adopt.

The Compensation Committee’s responsibilities include the following:

The Board of Directors has adopted a charter for the Compensation Committee on October 19, 2017. A copy of the Compensation Committee charter is available in the Corporate Governance section of our website at https://ir.fatbrands.com. The Compensation Committee reviews and reassesses the adequacy of the charter on an annual basis.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance committee is comprised of Mr. Holtzman, Mr. Lotman and Mr. Rensi, with Mr. Rensi serving as the chair.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s responsibilities include:

The Board of Directors has adopted a charter for the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee on October 19, 2017. A copy of the Compensation Committee charter is available in the Corporate Governance section of our website at https://ir.fatbrands.com. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee reviews and reassesses the adequacy of the charter on an annual basis.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SECURITIES WE ARE OFFERING

The following summary of the terms and provisions of the Series B Preferred Stock and Warrants does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to our Certificate of Incorporation and the Certificate of Designation establishing the Series B Preferred Stock, each of which is or will be incorporated by reference in this Offering Circular.

Series B Cumulative Preferred Stock

Dividends. Holders of the Series B Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by our Board of Directors, cumulative cash dividends payable quarterly in an amount per share of Series B Preferred Stock equal to $2.0625 per share each year, which is equivalent to 8.25% of the $25.00 liquidation preference per share. Dividends on the Series B Preferred Stock will be payable quarterly in arrears based on the Company’s fiscal quarters, beginning with the fiscal quarter ended September 29, 2019. Dividends on the Series B Preferred Stock will increase to $2.50 per share each year, which is equivalent to 10% of the $25.00 liquidation preference per share, to the extent the Company fails to make a cash dividend payment of our or more consecutive or non-consecutive quarterly dividends. To the extent declared by our Board of Directors, dividends will be payable not later than twenty (20) days after the end of each quarter. Dividends on the Series B Preferred Stock will accumulate whether or not we have earnings, whether or not there are funds legally available for the payment of such dividends and whether or not such dividends are declared by our Board of Directors.

Voting Rights. As long as any shares of Series B Preferred Stock are outstanding and remain unredeemed, the Company may not, without the majority vote of the Series B Preferred Stock, engage in a (i) merger, consolidation or share exchange that materially and adversely affects the rights, preferences or privileges of the Series B Preferred Stock, unless full redemption price is paid in cash; (ii) amend the certificate of incorporation to materially and adversely affect the Series B Preferred Stock; or (iii) declare or pay any junior dividends or repurchase any junior securities during any time that all dividends on the Series B Preferred Stock have not been paid in full in cash.

Maturity and Call Feature. Upon (i) the five-year anniversary of the initial issuance date (             , 2024), or (ii) the earlier liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company (the “Series B Mandatory Redemption Date”), the holders of Series B Preferred Stock will be entitled to cash redemption of their Series B Preferred Stock in an amount equal to $25.00 per share plus any accrued and unpaid dividends. The rights of holders of Series B Preferred Stock to receive their liquidation preference also will be subject to the proportionate rights of our Series A Fixed Rate Cumulative Preferred Stock, and any other class or series of our capital stock ranking senior to or in parity with the Series B Preferred Stock as to liquidation.

In addition, prior to the Series B Mandatory Redemption Date, the Company may optionally call the Series B Preferred Stock, in whole or in part, at the following redemption prices per share, plus any accrued and unpaid dividends:

Early Redemption by Holder. Holders of Series B Preferred Stock may optionally cause the Company to redeem all or any portion of their Series B Preferred Stock following the first anniversary of the initial issuance date at the following redemption prices per share: