Chanticleer Holdings raises $800,000 in private stock sale

Charlotte-based investment company Chanticleer Holdings said Wednesday that it has raised $800,000 in a private offering of shares.

Chanticleer said the investors, whose names it did not disclose, bought 160,000 shares at $5 apiece in the deal that closed Thursday.

The offering comes as Chanticleer seeks to expand its empire of Hooters restaurants and other restaurant brands it recently acquired. Chanticleer, whose business model includes owning and operating Hooters locations outside the U.S., has seven of the restaurants in four countries. It has said there's capacity for 75 Hooters locations in its international markets.

This year, Chanticleer has departed from being solely focused on Hooters. Last week, it announced that it had acquired a majority stake in the companies that own the Charlotte-based Just Fresh restaurant chain. And, in October, it said bought Charlotte-based American Roadside Burgers.

Chanticleer has faced losses that CEO Mike Pruitt has attributed to the costs of being publicly traded and startup expenses in the countries where it has opened Hooters restaurants. In its most recent quarter, it had a net loss of $706,944.

Pruitt has said Chanticleer needs to roughly double its Hooters locations to overcome the costs of being public and reach profitability. He also said the company is considering opening American Roadside and Just Fresh locations in other countries.

“Having access to capital at favorable rates allows us to continue to pursue opportunities as they present themselves," Pruitt said in a statement Wednesday.