BUSINESS INSIDE Sold but not gone

Atlanta-based Inspire Brands Inc. completed its $2.3 billion acquisition of Oklahoma City-based Sonic Corp. on Friday.

Sonic is no longer locally owned. Atlanta-based Inspire Brands Inc. completed its $2.3 billion acquisition of Oklahoma City-based Sonic Corp. on Friday. Sonic is the latest addition to the Inspire portfolio, which already includes Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings and Rusty Taco. The acquisition was initially announced in September and headquarters for the drive-in will remain in Bricktown, the companies have said. Leadership within the company is changing as longtime Sonic CEO Cliff Hudson will pass the title along to Claudia San Pedro, who has worked as Sonic president since January. San Pedro will report to Inspire CEO Paul Brown, and Hudson will stay with Sonic as senior adviser until March 2019. “We are thrilled to officially welcome Sonic to the Inspire family,” Brown said in a statement. “Sonic and its franchisees have created one of the most successful and distinctive brands in the restaurant industry. We look forward to helping further drive innovation and long-term growth at Sonic and across our growing family of brands.” The merger agreement between Sonic and privately held Inspire Brands Inc. offers $43.50 per share in cash for each Sonic share. The acquisition also includes the assumption of Sonic's net debt. Inspire has nearly 8,300 Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In, and Rusty Taco locations worldwide whose annual sales exceed $12 billion.