💥New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing - FAT Brands Inc. ($FAT)💥
$FAT and $TWNP fall off the ⛰️, land in chapter 11 amid corporate "looting" allegations
Pour one out for poor Johnny: he really hated to see this one.
On January 26, 2026, Beverly Hills-based FAT Brands Inc. ($FAT) (“Fat Brands”), 95% FAT-owned Twin Hospitality Group Inc. ($TWNP) (“Twin Hospitality”), and 180 affiliates (collectively, together with Fat Brands and Twin Hospitality, the “debtors”) filed pretty predictable freefall chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in the Southern District of Texas (Judge Perez). The debtors, which operate 18 restaurant brands in the quick service, fast casual, and casual dining space, have had their hands full the past several years (much like Johnny, 😎). We covered that history 👇.
Still, Johnny had held out hope that the debtors would find a way to work through their financial troubles without resorting to bankruptcy — which is obviously hard on (🙄) the business and, far more distressing for Johnny, the debtors’ darling employees.*
They deserved better than a harsh crash into chapter 11. Alas, that’s what they got.
There ain’t so much as a whiff of a deal here, but to tell that tale, how about a juxtaposition? For the debtors’ view of the world, we’ll use CRO and Huron Consulting Group Inc. Managing Director John DiDonato’s first day declaration, and for the creditors’ … hmmm … let’s go with the chapter 11 trustee motion filed (one day after the petition date) by the ad hoc group of securitization noteholders (the “ad hoc group”), which holds ~85% of those ~$1.4b in notes and is represented by White & Case LLP (“W&C”).
We’ll start with Mr. DiDonato: