Fat Brands, Inc 8-K

What Happened
Fat Brands, Inc. and its direct and indirect subsidiaries (the Debtors) filed voluntary Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas on January 26, 2026. The Debtors are operating as debtors-in-possession and have filed customary “first day” motions; a hearing for emergency first-day relief was noticed for January 28, 2026 and will be by audio/video connection. The company also issued a press release the same day announcing the filings.

Key Details

• The Chapter 11 filing constitutes events of default and (to the extent not already accelerated) automatic acceleration under multiple debt agreements, including approximately:
  • $110 million (FB Resid Holding I, LLC Secured Notes — Resid Indenture)
  • $201 million (FAT Brands Royalty I, LLC Secured Notes — Royalty Indenture)
  • $410 million (FAT Brands GFG Royalty I, LLC Secured Notes — GFG Indenture)
  • $140 million (FAT Brands Fazoli’s Native I, LLC Secured Notes — Fazoli’s Indenture)
  • $403 million (Twin Hospitality I, LLC Secured Notes — Twin Indenture)
  • Plus smaller obligations: ~$2M (convertible note), $10M (Waterfall Bridge loan), $18.75M (Insight Capital loan), ~$6.2M and ~$8.4M (promissory notes), and ~$4M (equipment financing).
• Board changes: effective January 26, 2026 the Board expanded from 14 to 15 members and appointed two independent restructuring directors — Patrick Bartels and Neal Goldman — who also sit on a two-person Special Committee. Each will be paid $40,000 per month, a $7,500 per diem in certain circumstances, plus expense reimbursement while serving.
• Restructuring leadership: John DiDonato (Huron) was appointed Chief Restructuring Officer and Abhimanyu Gupta (Huron) was appointed Deputy CRO.
• Creditor enforcement actions are automatically stayed under the Bankruptcy Code; prior notices of acceleration had already been received in November 2025 for several indentures.

Why It Matters
The Chapter 11 filing puts the company into a formal restructuring process that directly affects creditors and equity holders. Creditors’ rights to enforce payment are paused by the bankruptcy stay, and many large secured note tranches are (or will be) accelerated, which will be addressed in the Chapter 11 proceedings. The company warns that trading in its securities is highly speculative during the cases and that common shareholders could experience a complete or significant loss depending on the outcome. Appointments of independent restructuring directors and a CRO signal active oversight of the restructuring process, but the ultimate treatment of debt and equity will be determined through the court-supervised Chapter 11 process.