06/03/2025
Citizens Advises Mosaic on Sale of 40 Arby’s Restaurants
PROVIDENCE, RI – Citizens Capital Markets & Advisory announced today that it served as the exclusive financial advisor to Mosaic Management and Mosaic Red Hat Group, a franchisee of Arby’s, on the sale of 40 restaurants located across Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. The restaurants were sold to AES Restaurant Group.
Mosaic is an Atlanta-based management firm specializing in investment, development and operations of multi-unit portfolios in the food and beverage, hospitality and real estate industries. Mosaic will continue operating quick service restaurants as a franchisee of Burger King.
“We were very pleased with Citizens’ work from beginning to end. They provided thoughtful strategic advice every step of the way as we maneuvered through the process,” said Murad Karimi, CEO and Founder of Mosaic. “We were impressed with how collaborative and effective Citizens was in working with our other third parties, our franchisor and the buyer, and we would highly recommend using David Stiles and the Citizens team with any sale initiative.”
AES Restaurant Group is an Indianapolis-based restaurant management company. Following this transaction, it is now the second-largest franchisee in the Arby's system, with a total of 229 restaurants in 17 states.
“Working with David Stiles and Citizens was a game-changer for our acquisition process. Their deep industry knowledge, strategic approach and unwavering commitment ensured a seamless transaction,” said John Wade, CEO and Founder of AES Restaurant Group. “David’s negotiation skills, attention to detail and ability to navigate complexities made this transaction not just successful, but truly efficient. If you're looking for an investment banking team who delivers results and fosters trust, Citizens is the one to call."
Citizens Managing Director David Stiles added: “This was an important transaction for the Arby’s brand and we look forward to the continued success of both Mosaic and AES Restaurant Group.”
Citizens Capital Markets & Advisory offers investment banking, research, sales and trading activities as part of our institutional broker-dealer, Citizens JMP Securities, LLC, a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE: CFG).
About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $220.1 billion in assets as of March 31, 2025. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,100 ATMs and approximately 1,000 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on X, LinkedIn or Facebook.
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The testimonials presented are applicable to the individuals depicted and may not be representative of the experience of others. The testimonials are not paid and are not indicative of future performance or success.
