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MOD Super Fast Pizza gets $150M investment, sets major store expansion

May 21, 2019

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice announced that it invested $150 million to acquire a significant stake in MOD Super Fast Pizza Holdings LLC, a 433-unit fast casual restaurant that specializes in artisan-style pizza and hand tossed salad.

The investment firm said the stake will help MOD Super Fast Pizza, which they say is the largest pizza restaurant by unit count in the fast casual space,  to accelerate its expansion in the fast casual restaurant space, according to a company release. The chain is expected to now reach 1,000 locations over the next five years, creating 14,000 additional jobs.

"We could not be happier with our new MOD partnership and we look forward to working closely with management on strategies and operational initiatives to ensure that the company profiably achieves its ambitious growth plans," Ken Giuriceo, a partner at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, said in the announcement.

Officials said that additional investments are planned in off-premises and digital capabilities, noting that the chain has made prior investments  in mobile ordering, digital marketing and customer loyalty.

"Over the past 11 years, we have built MOD upon a conviction that we could build a best-in-class business by putting our people and the communities we serve first," Scott Svenson, co-founder and CEO of the company said, in the release. "This strategic partnership with CD&R is further validation of our belief that profit and positive social impact can co-exist."

Giuriceo and Paul Pressler, a partner in the firm as well as a former chief executive officer at the Gap and a former senior executive at Disney, will become board members at MOD Super Fast Pizza.