Inspire Brands, a private equity backed firm that owns Arby’s and Buffalo Wild Wings, is paying nearly 20% more for Sonic than what shares were trading at on Monday.

Sonic(SONC) is famous for its quirky ads and retro 1950s-esque drive-in locations.

Inspire Brands, which has both company-owned and franchised restaurant brands, has agreed to acquire drive-in fast-food chain Sonic Corp. SONC, -0.13% for $43.50 per share in cash, or about $2.3 billion, including assumption of Sonic’s debt. Sonic joins Inspire’s portfolio, which includes more than 4,700 Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and Rusty Taco restaurants. Inspire is majority-owned by affiliates of private-equity firm Roark Capital Group, which owns Arby’s. Sonic will become a privately-held subsidiary of Inspire Brands and will continue to operate as an independent brand.

Roark Capital, an Atlanta-based invesment firm, is the majority owner of Inspire. It has also purchased big stakes in Auntie Anne’s, Carvel and Jimmy John’s. Just last year Inspire paid nearly $3 billion for Buffalo Wild Wings.

source: CNNMoney

Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom

The co-founders of photo-sharing giant Instagram,  Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom, are both leaving the firm.

Mr Systrom, chief executive, said they were departing to “explore our curiosity and creativity again”.

Instagram, purchased by Facebook in 2012 for $1bn (£760m) in cash and stock, has more than a billion users. (and way too many hair companies)

There had been reports of tension between the pair and Facebook, and the departures add to what has been a troubling year for the parent company.

Mr Systrom, 34, the CEO, and Mr Krieger, 32, the chief technical officer, started the image sharing site in 2010 and continued to run the service after it was acquired by Facebook .

Fashion company Michael Kors is buying Versace, the Italian luxury brand founded by Gianni Versace in 1978, for $2.12 billion. The two fashion houses made the announcement Today.

Donatella Versace, the artistic director of the Milan-based fashion house who helped lead the company after her brother’s death in 1997, said it’s the perfect time for the company to join with Michael Kors.

The deal, which would end the independence of one of the last prominent stand-alone fashion brands, is the biggest effort yet by Kors to build an empire. To reflect its growing collection of trophy brands, Kors said the company would change its name to Capri Holdings Limited once the deal is completed.

Kors described the purchase as a milestone in its expansion plans. The Michael Kors brand had its roots in the “middle market” of the luxury sector and relied on outlets and department stores, where deep discounting is common. But mall traffic has declined in North America — Kors’s biggest market — and shoppers too were changing, increasingly seeking brands at the extreme of the style and price spectrum.

Acquiring Versace, led by artistic director Donatella Versace, whose flamboyant gowns can sell for thousands of dollars, is part of the company’s strategy to woo more big spenders — and find more loyal customers in Europe and Asia. Last year, Kors bought the shoe designer Jimmy Choo for 896 million pounds, or $1.2 billion at current exchange rates.

source: PRNewsWire

Lebron James is the most recent athlete to open a school for at risk youths in his hometown.  iPromise School is a Elementary school located in Akron Ohio.   Read More

A @banksy painting valued at $35,000 USD has been stolen from a gallery in Toronto, Canada. The work titled “Trolley Hunter” was stolen from ‘The Art of Banksy’ exhibition at 5am local time. Toronto Police is still in search of the suspect.

Source: HypeBeast