The original Shake Shack location in New York City's Madison Square Park in an undated photo.Beyond My Ken
Shake Shack, the burger chain started by restaurateur Danny Meyer as a kiosk in a New York park, filed for an initial public offering in the U.S.
With more than 63 locations from Connecticut to Dubai the chain used a $100-million (U.S.) placeholder for the IPO, a figure to calculate fees that may change. The company has applied to list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SHAK.
Other restaurants chains have tapped the public market this year, capitalizing on investors' appetites for new and growth stocks. Pizza seller Papa Murphy's Holdings Inc. raised $63.8-million in May, while chicken chain El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. has gained 40 per cent since its July IPO.
Shake Shack began as a hot-dog cart in Madison Square Park in New York, according to its website. In 2004, the company's first permanent kiosk in the park opened. Since then, Shake Shack has expanded to about 63 locations, opening restaurants in Pennsylvania and Florida, as well as abroad in the U.K. and Middle East.
The IPO may value Shake Shack, owned by Union Square Hospitality Group, as high as $1-billion, people familiar with the matter said in September. Its sales were about $83.8-million in the nine months to Sept. 24, according to the filing.
Union Square Hospitality, which also owns Gramercy Tavern and pizza restaurant Marta, is backed by private equity company Leonard Green & Partners LP.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley are managing the offering, the prospectus shows.