Background: Sushi Sushi was founded nearly 30 years ago in Melbourne, selling grab and go sushi rolls that were more Aussie mall than traditional Tokyo. Today, it has grown to 190 stores nationwide, serving up everything from teriyaki chicken to avocado tuna hand rolls.

What happened: In 2019, private equity firm Odyssey acquired Sushi Sushi as it continued expanding across Australia. Now, Odyssey has now sold Sushi Sushi to Japanese dining giant Genki Global Dining Concepts for a reported $160 million. Genki began in the 1960s with sushi train restaurants and has since expanded into Japanese fast food across more than a dozen countries.

What else: Genki plans to keep Sushi Sushi's core strategy but accelerate growth using its global supply chain and technology. The ambition is big: expand toward 450 Australian stores and push into international markets, including the Middle East.

What's the key learning

💡Not all buyers want the same thing when acquiring a company. A financial buyer like private equity focuses on improving profitability and valuation with the goal of selling later. Odyssey reportedly bought Sushi Sushi for around $50 to $60 million when it had about 60 stores, then exited at roughly $160 million after scaling it to 190 stores.

💡Sushi Sushi and Sushi Hub together account for about 40% of Australia's sushi takeaway market, despite representing only around 15% of store numbers. That is the PE formula: grow footprint, strengthen margins, increase market share, then prepare the asset for exit.

💡For Genki, they're able to get the synergies of Sushi Sushi immediately. They gain instant entry into Australia without building 190 stores from scratch. And by plugging Sushi Sushi into its global supply chain, recipes and tech stack, it can accelerate expansion much quicker. Win win!