Luby’s cafeteria to buy Fuddruckers and Koo Koo Roo for $61 million

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Fuddruckers hamburgers and Koo Koo Roo chicken restaurants could soon have a new owner -- cafeteria chain Luby’s Inc.

Luby’s, based in Houston, has agreed to buy the majority of the assets of Fuddruckers and Koo Koo Roo’s parent company Magic Brands for about $61 million in cash, according to a statement released Friday.

The assets from Magic Brands, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in April, were sold to Luby’s in an auction on Thursday as a part of the Austin-based company’s bankruptcy process, the statement said.

The deal is expected to close by July 9 pending bankruptcy court approval, Luby’s said.

As a part of the agreement, Luby’s will assume real estate leases and contracts and would pay an additional $2.45 million in cash if it does not take over specific contracts, the statement said.

Fuddruckers has 60 company-operated restaurants and 138 franchise locations, including eight in Southern California, Luby’s said.

Koo Koo Roo has three locations: one in Santa Monica, one in West Hollywood and one in the Larchmont neighborhood of Los Angeles.

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles