Friendly's Ice Cream LLC had announced the buyout of The Johnny Rockets Group, Inc., which operates and sells franchises of its American-themed restaurants all over the globe.

Johnny Rockets, which was founded in 1986, had built a reputation for offering a piece of America's food culture to its customers through its juicy hamburgers, sandwiches, shakes and malts.

In pushing through with the acquisition, Friendly's had taken note of Johnny Rockets global appeal and recognition from its list of loyal customers. To date, the company has 300 corporate and franchises in 20 countries, including bistros aboard Royal Caribbean cruise ships.

Friendly's is an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, a private investment firm that had found success in equity, leveraged acquisitions and other investments in companies looking to take the next step in their businesses.

Sun Capital and its affiliates have shares in 320 companies all over the world with combined revenues of US $45 billion.