By Abigail Summerville

Aug 29 - Global investment firm Rhône Group has signed a deal to buy U.S. restaurant chain Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers for around $700 million, including debt, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Thompson Street Capital Partners, which acquired Freddy's from its founders in 2021, has been working with investment bank William Blair on the sale, Reuters reported in November. Investment bank North Point also advised the company, these people said, requesting anonymity as the matter is confidential.

Rhône and Thompson Street declined to comment. William Blair and North Point did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Rhône, founded in 1996 by former Lazard and Goldman Sachs bankers, manages around $10 billion of assets. It invests in companies across the consumer, business services, and industrial sectors.

In 2018, it took Brazilian restaurant chain Fogo de Chão private and then sold it to Bain Capital in 2023 for around $1.1 billion. Rhône has been an investor since 2017 in Saks Fifth Avenue parent HBC, which acquired department-store chain Neiman Marcus last year.

Wichita, Kansas-based Freddy's was launched in 2002 by brothers Bill and Randy Simon, and their business partner Scott Redler, and named after the brothers' father.

It currently operates over 500 locations across North America and competes primarily against hamburger chains. A majority of its locations are operated by franchise partners.

St. Louis-based Thompson Street Capital invests in mid-sized, founder-led businesses and manages around $4.5 billion in assets.

(Reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York. Edited by Dawn Kopecki, Kirsten Donovan)

((abigail.summerville@thomsonreuters.com))