Private equity firm will buy Boston Market

Private equity firm Sun Capital Partners said today that it has agreed to buy Boston Market, a restaurant chain with local roots, from its parent, McDonald's Corp.

Spokesman Richard Hurwitz said Sun Capital would acquire Boston Market but declined to make further comment on the deal. A McDonald's spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

In a regulatory filing today, the world's largest restaurant company said it had agreed to sell Colorado-based Boston Market to an undisclosed buyer. Terms of the deal weren't announced, but Illinois-based McDonald's said it had signed a definitive agreement to sell the chain in "early August." The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter.

The news of a sale comes seven months after McDonald's acknowledged it was studying strategic options for the chain.

Boston Market, originally called Boston Chicken, has 630 restaurants in 28 states. McDonald's acquired it in 2000 for $173.5 million as part of an initiative to diversify its business.

In the early 1990s, Boston Chicken was a Wall Street highflier but later ended up in bankruptcy protection when it was unable to sustain its early momentum.

McDonald's shares climbed 66 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $49.18 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (AP)