FAT Brands Wins Approval of Four Brand Sales, Files $445.9M Liquidation Plan

FAT Brands sold its restaurant brands through four separate 363 transactions and secured court approval of a Global Settlement with its securitization noteholders within four months of filing, converting the case into a chapter 11 liquidation now in plan solicitation. The company filed chapter 11 on January 26, 2026 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Houston Division), as Case No. 26-90126, with an 18-brand portfolio of more than 2,200 locations intact but with creditors already contesting control of cash inside a multi-silo whole-business securitization structure. The case pulled in Twin Hospitality, the public company that owns Twin Peaks and Smokey Bones, and turned on a dispute with noteholders over who could direct liquidity after prepetition defaults and acceleration notices.

The case advanced from the early cash-collateral fight through contested 363 sales and a court-approved Global Settlement to plan solicitation in roughly four months. The debtors held an April 27 auction under court-approved bidding procedures, split the company into four transactions by business line, and received court entry of all four sale orders on May 19, 2026 — the same day the court entered the Final DIP Financing Order and an order dismissing the chapter 11 cases of sold debtors. The debtors filed a Joint Chapter 11 Plan of Liquidation on May 22, 2026, and the court conditionally approved the Disclosure Statement on June 2, 2026. A modified solicitation order entered June 17, 2026 reset the schedule to a July 20 voting and plan-objection deadline and a combined disclosure-statement-approval and confirmation hearing on July 27, 2026.

Debtor(s)	FAT Brands Inc., et al.
Court	U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Houston Division)
Case Number	26-90126
Petition Date	January 26, 2026
Judge	Hon. Alfredo R. Perez
Funded Debt	Approximately $1.4 billion to $1.45 billion, largely securitization notes
Cash at Filing	Approximately $2.1 million unrestricted; approximately $19.9 million restricted
DIP Financing	FBG and Twin silo DIP facilities from WBS Ad Hoc Group members; up to $46.14 million FBG new money and $28.8 million Twin new money, plus a 3:1 roll-up of prepetition note claims
363 Sale	Auction held April 27, 2026; four sale orders entered May 19, 2026 — FBG/Round Table (credit bid), Twin Peaks (credit bid), Hot Dog on a Stick ($8M cash), Elevation Burger ($2.5M cash)
Plan Status	Joint Chapter 11 Plan of Liquidation filed May 22, 2026; Disclosure Statement conditionally approved June 2, 2026 and reset by a June 17, 2026 modified solicitation order; combined confirmation hearing set for July 27, 2026

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Mediated Settlement and Governance Overhaul

The governance dispute that occupied the case's first seven weeks ended with a court-approved mediated settlement in mid-March 2026. The deal resolved the trustee and suspension motions in exchange for three linked outcomes: CEO Andrew Wiederhorn agreed to take a leave of absence, the ad hoc noteholder group committed to DIP financing, and the debtors agreed to pursue an accelerated asset sale. The court entered a Stipulated Mediation Order on January 28 appointing Judge Marvin Isgur as mediator, and that mediation produced the March settlement that installed a chief restructuring officer and conditioned financing on Wiederhorn's leave.

The mediated settlement was structured as a 9019 motion and heard on an emergency basis in March. The governance overhaul was a condition of the financing, and Wiederhorn took a leave of absence rather than resigning or being terminated.

The debtors retained professional advisors to manage the restructuring. Court filings show Huron Consulting Services LLC was appointed as financial advisor, with John C. DiDonato designated as chief restructuring officer; DiDonato later submitted the declaration supporting the Global Settlement. GLC Advisors & Co., LLC was retained as investment banker to run the sale process, and Latham & Watkins LLP and Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP serve as the debtors' bankruptcy counsel and co-counsel. The official committee of unsecured creditors retained Paul Hastings LLP as counsel and M3 Advisory Partners, LP as financial advisor. By mid-May 2026 the debtors' counsel and investment banker had filed first interim fee applications, and Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones, serving as conflicts counsel, filed a final fee application; the Global Settlement conditions closing of the credit bid transactions on payment in full of prepetition trustee and DIP agent professional fees. GLC Advisors later filed a final fee application covering January 26 through June 15, 2026, seeking $9,525,000 in compensation and $9,365.74 in expense reimbursement, for a total of $9,534,365.74.

DIP Financing From the Noteholder Group

After several rounds of interim cash collateral relief, the debtors moved on March 18, 2026 for interim and final orders authorizing secured postpetition financing and continued use of cash collateral. The DIP motion describes a facility structured as two parallel silo-specific facilities — an FBG DIP facility and a Twin DIP facility — provided by members of the WBS Ad Hoc Group, the same securitization noteholders that had earlier fought the debtors over cash collateral and governance.

The facility combines new-money term loans with a roll-up of prepetition note claims. The proposed final DIP order describes up to $46,140,000 of FBG New Money DIP Loans and $28,800,000 of Twin New Money DIP Loans, alongside FBG Rolled-Up DIP Loans and Twin Rolled-Up DIP Loans. The DIP papers describe the roll-up as a 3:1 ratio — for every dollar of new money funded, three dollars of prepetition note claims are rolled up into the DIP — carried through FBG and Twin roll-up financing that brings the prepetition noteholders' claims into the DIP structure.

The supporting declaration of Jeff Raithel argues the debtors could not obtain financing on an unsecured or junior basis, that the roll-up was a highly negotiated condition the DIP lenders required, and that the rolled-up loans do not prime any permitted prepetition liens. The court entered interim DIP orders in early April, and the Final DIP Financing Order was entered on May 19, 2026 — the same date as the four sale orders. Earlier coverage reported the financing was structured to support the accelerated sale process.

363 Sale Process and Brand-by-Brand Sale Orders

On March 12, 2026, the debtors moved for bidding procedures to sell substantially all of their assets through one or more transactions. The sale procedures were filed while broader negotiations continued.

The court entered the bidding procedures order on April 9, 2026, setting an indications-of-interest deadline of April 3, 2026, a qualified bid deadline of April 24, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. (CT), an auction on April 27, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. (CT) at the New York offices of Latham & Watkins, and an initial sale hearing on May 8, 2026. The deadline for the debtors to identify any stalking horse bidders and proposed bid protections was April 15, 2026, and the order provided that a credit bid could not receive bid protections other than fee coverage and expense reimbursement. The order set an initial closing deadline of May 11, 2026.

The compressed timeline drew an objection. Landlords objected to the proposed auction process, asking for more time and access to evaluate bids. The auction proceeded on April 27, and the debtors filed a notice of successful bidder for the FBG Assets and backup bidder for the Round Table Assets on April 28, 2026.

In mid-May 2026 the debtors filed a series of notices attaching proposed sale orders and revised asset purchase agreements for the successful bidders, advancing the 363 sales to sale-order stage ahead of the May 19, 2026 sale hearing. The auction divided the company into four transactions by business line.

FBG Assets. All assets other than the Hot Dog on a Stick, Elevation Burger, and Twin Peaks assets — including the Round Table Pizza assets — were sold to FBG Bid Co., the acquisition vehicle through which the WBS Ad Hoc Group of securitization noteholders credit-bid for the FBG silo after moving from adversary to DIP lender over the first months of the case. The committee's sale objection reported that FBG credit bid at roughly $595 million. DC Restaurant Group, LLC was designated the backup purchaser, with a backup bid of $44,000,000 for the Round Table assets.

Twin Peaks Assets. Substantially all assets of the Twin Peaks restaurant brand were sold to TWNPKS Bid Co. through a credit bid, under the proposed Twin Peaks sale order and revised APA.

Hot Dog on a Stick Assets. The Hot Dog on a Stick assets were sold to Amazing Brands, LLC under a separate sale order and revised APA.

Elevation Burger Assets. The Elevation Burger assets were sold to TABCO International Food Catering K.S.C.C. under a separate sale order and revised APA.

The proposed FBG and Twin Peaks sale orders find the credit bids to be valid and proper consideration under sections 363(b) and 363(k) of the Bankruptcy Code, structured through the purchase agreements, a "Closing Steps Plan," and an Exchange Commitment Letter dated April 24, 2026. The orders state no cause exists to limit the amount of the credit bid, find each purchaser to be a good faith buyer entitled to section 363(m) protection, and authorize assumption and assignment of designated contracts listed in Schedule 2.6(b) of each revised APA.

Committee and creditor objections. The official committee of unsecured creditors objected to approval of the 363 sale on May 4, 2026, arguing the WBS Ad Hoc Group's credit bids are legally flawed and fail the business judgment standard. The committee argued the noteholders cannot use credit bids under section 363(k) to acquire assets that do not secure their claims, that the sale would render the estates administratively insolvent and block a viable chapter 11 plan, and that certain assets are unencumbered and cannot be acquired by credit bid without a cash payment — among them the Atlanta factory, unencumbered bank accounts holding roughly $699,557 as of the petition date, commercial tort claims, unencumbered postpetition restaurant revenue, and avoidance actions. The committee's objection reports the credit bids as totaling $359.5 million for the Twin silo and $595 million for the FBG silo. The committee also objected to a proposed waiver of section 506(c) surcharge rights and contended that Manager Fees and Manager Advances are senior secured claims that must be satisfied or preserved. It asked the court to deny the sale motion in its current form unless the noteholders pay cash for unencumbered assets and fund the costs of an orderly wind-down, and the same day it filed a motion for leave, standing, and authority to prosecute estate claims.

Creditor Insight Capital, LLC objected on May 6, 2026 to the proposed sale of the Hot Dog on a Stick assets to Amazing Brands for $8,000,000. Insight, which holds a first-position perfected lien on the assets of HDOS Acquisition, LLC — 28 Hot Dog on a Stick stores in California — and is owed $20,535,000 as of January 27, 2026, argued the price is grossly inadequate and cannot support a free-and-clear sale under section 363(f) over its non-consent. Insight withdrew its counsel of record on May 15, 2026.

The Ad Hoc Group of Twin Peaks Franchisees, which had earlier objected to the sale, filed a statement in support on May 14, 2026, expressing hope that a chapter 11 plan would resolve outstanding franchisee issues. Franchisees across the eighteen-brand system faced potential disruptions to marketing support and supply-chain operations as the sale process advanced. On May 7, 2026 the debtors filed a motion to dismiss the Twin Restaurant New Mexico cases and related Twin Restaurant debtors. The debtors' May 16, 2026 omnibus reply in support of the proposed sales reports that numerous cure and free-and-clear objections were resolved, withdrawn, or rendered moot for purposes of the sale hearing through agreed language and reservations of rights.

Sale orders entered. The May 19, 2026 hearing resulted in entry of all four sale orders and the Final DIP Financing Order. The court approved the sale of Hot Dog on a Stick assets to Amazing Brands, LLC for $8,000,000 in cash and Elevation Burger assets to TABCO International Food Catering K.S.C.C. for $2,500,000 in cash (covering operations in the United States, Qatar, and Kuwait). The court also approved the Twin Peaks and FBG asset sales to TWNPKS Bid Co. and FBG Bid Co., respectively, through credit bids. The court also entered an Order Dismissing the Chapter 11 Cases of Certain Debtors upon the sale of their equity interests — dismissal takes effect upon the filing of a Notice of Closing for each sold debtor, with claims against dismissed debtors to be paid in the ordinary course of business. The court separately dismissed the chapter 11 cases of Twin Restaurant New Mexico, LLC and Seeds of Compassion Fund, Inc. on May 31, 2026, and the debtors filed a Sale Closing Notice for the Hot Dog on a Stick assets on June 8, 2026, signaling that brand sales had begun to close. External reporting framed the four transactions as roughly $1 billion in approved restaurant-brand sales, with the Twin Peaks credit bid valued at $359 million.

Smokey Bones, the other major Twin Hospitality brand and not part of any of the four auction transactions, closed all its U.S. locations on or around April 28-29, 2026 — the day after the auction — affecting approximately 31 remaining restaurants. The closures occurred while the sale transactions for the other brands were proceeding to documentation and final orders.

Global Settlement and the Recovery Waterfall

On May 8, 2026 the debtors filed a motion to authorize entry into a settlement agreement, followed on May 15, 2026 by an emergency motion seeking approval, under Bankruptcy Rule 9019, of a Global Settlement and the related Settlement Term Sheet. The motion is supported by a DiDonato declaration from the chief restructuring officer. The Global Settlement is designed to resolve outstanding objections to the sale orders and the final DIP order, establish a framework for a chapter 11 plan of liquidation, and fund the wind-down of the estates.

The settling parties are the debtors, the WBS Ad Hoc Group, the Resid Noteholders (3|5|2 Capital GP LLC, on behalf of 3|5|2 Capital ABS Master Fund LP), and the official committee of unsecured creditors. Under the settlement, the WBS Ad Hoc Group agreed to inject additional liquidity through the NewCos' payment of a "Funding Amount" into a segregated account for the wind-down budget and to contribute collateral and assume liabilities it would not otherwise be required to assume. The Resid Noteholders agreed to settle the Resid Adversary Proceeding and withdraw their objections with prejudice. The committee agreed to settle its challenge rights and various litigation claims, and the debtors agreed to file a supported chapter 11 plan while retaining a fiduciary out to pursue a superior alternative transaction.

The settlement term sheet sets the consideration architecture for the credit bid transactions. The WBS Ad Hoc Group agreed that consideration for the Twin and FBG transactions would include all DIP claims for the FBG and Twin new-money and roll-up DIP loans and all prepetition note claims listed in the Closing Steps Plan, and that $445.9 million of prepetition secured obligations not used as consideration in the credit bid transactions would be allowed as general unsecured claims. Consummation of the credit bid transactions is conditioned on entry of the 9019 order, funding of the Funding Amount, payment in full of prepetition trustee and DIP agent professional fees, and agreement among the parties on the tax structuring of "Specified Taxes." The Global Settlement follows the earlier mediated settlement reflected in the January 28 stipulated mediation order.

The court approved the Global Settlement at the May 19, 2026 hearing, entering an order that attaches the executed Settlement Term Sheet and quantifies the funding the WBS Ad Hoc Group agreed to provide. The NewCos fund a Funding Amount of $9.23 million into a segregated Plan Funding Account to cover pre-closing costs, sale costs, and a Chapter 11 Plan Reserve, and the Liquidation Trust is to be funded with at least $1.5 million from that reserve on the plan effective date. The $445.9 million of prepetition secured obligations not used as consideration in the credit bids is allowed as general unsecured claims against the applicable debtors and FAT Brands Inc.

The order establishes a recovery waterfall for distributable Liquidation Trust proceeds. The first dollars go entirely to the NewCos until the $9.23 million of NewCo Funding Claims, plus 12% annual interest on unrecovered amounts, are repaid. The next $18.9 million is split 65% to the NewCos, 20% to general unsecured claims, and 15% to the Resid Noteholders. Remaining proceeds are divided 50% to general unsecured claims, 15% to the Resid Noteholders, and 35% to the prepetition noteholders, with the Resid share dropping to zero once those holders receive $10 million in the aggregate — at which point the general unsecured allocation rises to 65%.

Plan of Liquidation and Combined Confirmation Hearing

With the sales and Global Settlement approved, the debtors pivoted to a Joint Chapter 11 Plan of Liquidation, filed May 22, 2026 alongside a disclosure statement and a motion for conditional approval and solicitation. The plan serves as a liquidating vehicle to distribute sale proceeds and remaining assets through a Liquidation Trust, with the trustee to be selected jointly by the committee, 3|5|2 Capital, and the WBS Ad Hoc Group. After a June 1 disclosure-statement hearing, the debtors filed revised versions, and the court conditionally approved the disclosure statement on June 2, 2026.

The disclosure statement sets out a twelve-class structure. Classes 1 and 2 are unimpaired and presumed to accept; Classes 3 through 8 are impaired and entitled to vote; and Classes 9 through 12 are impaired and deemed to reject. The separate Class 3 for the Insight Capital secured claim reflects the resolution path for Insight's earlier objection to the Hot Dog on a Stick sale. The disclosure statement does not state numeric projected recovery percentages for general unsecured creditors.

Class	Claim or interest	Treatment
1	Other Secured Claims	Unimpaired — presumed to accept
2	Other Priority Claims	Unimpaired — presumed to accept
3	Secured Insight Claims	Impaired — entitled to vote
4	Secured Percent Claims	Impaired — entitled to vote
5	Secured Waterfall Claims	Impaired — entitled to vote
6	Resid Claims (≈$168.4M; ≈$157.4M deficiency)	Impaired — entitled to vote
7	General Unsecured Claims (≥$445.9M)	Impaired — entitled to vote
8	Noteholder Deficiency Claims ($445.9M)	Impaired — entitled to vote
9	Intercompany Claims	Impaired — deemed to reject
10	Subordinated Claims	Impaired — deemed to reject
11	Intercompany Interests	Impaired — deemed to reject
12	Existing Equity Interests	Impaired — deemed to reject

The June 2 scheduling order originally set a July 17, 2026 voting and plan-objection deadline and a July 24, 2026 combined hearing. The debtors then filed solicitation versions of the plan and disclosure statement on June 22, 2026, after the court entered a modified order conditionally approving the Disclosure Statement and solicitation procedures on June 17, 2026. That modified order reset the schedule to a June 17, 2026 voting record date, a July 20, 2026 combined voting and plan-objection deadline, and a combined disclosure-statement-approval and confirmation hearing on July 27, 2026. Separately, the court extended the debtors' exclusive periods on May 26, 2026 — to file a plan through August 24, 2026 and to solicit acceptances through October 26, 2026.

Lease and contract rejections. The court entered an order authorizing rejection of specified executory contracts on June 26, 2026, effective as of June 8, 2026, with rejection-damage claims due by the later of the general claims bar date or 30 days after the rejection date.

The plan provides broad releases for the debtors, DIP lenders, prepetition noteholders, the committee, and the WBS Ad Hoc Group, while expressly excluding Andrew Wiederhorn, his family members, and their controlled entities from the released parties. Confirmation remains subject to conditions precedent, including entry of a final confirmation order, consummation of the sale transactions, execution of the Liquidation Trust Agreement, and full funding of the wind-down and escrow accounts.

Securitization Structure and Causes of Distress

FAT Brands built its capital structure primarily around approximately $1.4 billion of fixed-rate securitization notes issued through five special-purpose financing subsidiaries, according to the First Day Declaration. Four note series were backed by substantially all of the debtors' revenue-generating assets in separate whole-business securitization silos, while the Resid Notes were supported by future management fees and certain Twin Hospitality Class A shares held by FAT Brands. FAT Brands retained roughly 95% of Twin Hospitality's Class A stock and 100% of its Class B stock after Twin's January 2025 public listing. The WBS Ad Hoc Group held about $990 million, or roughly 85%, of the outstanding notes, according to the noteholders' omnibus objection.

The debtors' First Day Declaration ties the bankruptcy to the gap between the economics of the securitization structure and the operating cost of supporting the brands. The declaration says FAT Brands and Twin Hospitality acted as managers for the securitization silos and collected about $1.5 million per month, or roughly $17 million annually, in management fees, while those same services cost about $8 million per month — leaving the parent-level fee stream covering only a small fraction of actual SG&A.

The declaration says FAT Brands had paid more than $72 million in penalty interest and penalty amortization since the end of 2022, incurred after the debtors missed anticipated call dates and, in Twin's case, after Twin Hospitality failed to complete a qualified equity offering by an April 30, 2025 deadline, while over 80% of consolidated SG&A remained uncovered by the structure. The company also said it had incurred about $85.5 million in legal costs since 2021, on top of inflation, slower franchise openings, supply-chain pressure, and operating losses. Prepetition coverage had identified the company's debt problem, and the debtors reported third-quarter 2025 financial results shortly before the filing.

The filing record also shows management had already used several liquidity levers before the chapter 11 filing. The declaration says FAT Brands tried unsecured financings, retained-note sales, use of underspent advertising funds, common and preferred equity raises, and an attempted $75 million Twin Hospitality equity offering. The debtors said those options either ran out or stopped being actionable, leaving chapter 11 as the only forum where the company could preserve operations while negotiating with creditors. The declaration also says an out-of-court restructuring was not viable because a sustainable deal would likely have required unanimous creditor approval, and that the WBS Ad Hoc Group had indicated that, absent a chapter 11 filing, it would direct foreclosure notices, terminate the managers, and exercise control over the debtors' deposit accounts. Trade coverage on why FAT Brands filed chapter 11 and its debt struggles pointed to leverage, legal expenses, and weakening liquidity, and the company arrived in court after Nasdaq delisting notices and lender litigation over the Twin Hospitality collateral package.

Cash Collateral Fight and Trustee Motion

The debtors filed an Emergency Motion to Use Cash Collateral on January 27 because there was no DIP facility in place and the first four weeks of operations depended on access to restricted cash and future receipts. The debtors said they wanted expedited mediation and a broader financing process rather than a pure liquidation path.

Creditors answered immediately. The ad hoc group of securitization noteholders filed an Omnibus Objection the same day, arguing FAT Brands was not merely squeezed by an inflexible structure but had been diverting and commingling securitization cash for months. The objection attacked the debtors' attempt to use supposed "Unencumbered Cash" outside ordinary cash-collateral protections and said management fees and restaurant revenues still belonged inside the secured lenders' collateral package. Reporting detailed the lenders' effort to control the company's cash and case direction.

The court nevertheless entered interim relief, first on January 28 and later through a Third Interim Cash Collateral Order signed March 1. By that point the debtors had authority to use cash through March 10, 2026, but only under tight operating terms. The order requires weekly variance reporting, caps aggregate disbursements at 110% of budgeted levels, preserves the dispute over what counts as unencumbered cash, and subordinates creditor protections to a carve-out for statutory fees and professional costs. It bars the debtors from using estate cash for Andrew Wiederhorn's non-commercial travel, for most payments to current or former officers, directors, or Wiederhorn family members, and for payments on prepetition funded debt, and blocks estate cash from being used to challenge the secured parties' liens while the interim order remains in place.

The same creditor group that objected to cash collateral also filed a Motion to Appoint a Chapter 11 Trustee. That motion alleges FAT Brands employed Andrew Wiederhorn and multiple family members, paid more than $22 million in salary, benefits, and consulting fees to Wiederhorn relatives over the prior two years, and had made a mix of dividends, compensation, indemnification, and personal-expense payments the movants aggregated to roughly $200 million of insider-oriented value transfer. The motion put management conduct, insider payments, and control of the chapter 11 process before the court.

On February 5 the noteholders filed a motion to suspend Wiederhorn. The noteholders said the trigger was a January 30 postpetition sale of Twin Hospitality stock that happened without the type of committee control they believed had been promised at filing. Reporting covered the postpetition stock sale and the expanding governance dispute. The trustee and suspension motions were resolved through the mediation that produced the March settlement.

In the stock-sale motion, the debtors said Twin Hospitality issued 9,000,000 Class A shares to White Lion Capital for an aggregate purchase price of $3,104,200 and asked to use the proceeds for operating costs and administrative expenses. The court approved the transaction on February 27, and creditors continued to cite the sale as evidence that existing governance protections were inadequate. Prepetition litigation over the Twin-related collateral package had also preceded the filing.

Key Timeline

The schedule below tracks the case from the January 26, 2026 petition through a July 27, 2026 combined confirmation hearing. The sale calendar targeted an early-May closing, and a June 17, 2026 modified solicitation order later reset the plan-voting schedule toward that hearing.

Date	Milestone
January 26, 2026	FAT Brands files chapter 11 petitions in the Southern District of Texas
January 27, 2026	Debtors file cash collateral motion; noteholders file omnibus objection and trustee motion
January 28, 2026	Court enters first interim cash collateral order and a mediation order appointing Judge Marvin Isgur
February 5, 2026	Noteholders move to suspend Andrew Wiederhorn
February 27, 2026	Court approves the Twin Hospitality stock sale to White Lion Capital
Mid-March 2026	Mediated settlement resolves the trustee and suspension motions; Wiederhorn takes a leave of absence
March 12, 2026	Debtors move for bidding procedures to sell substantially all assets
March 18, 2026	Debtors move for interim and final DIP financing and continued cash collateral use
April 9, 2026	Court enters the bidding procedures order
April 27, 2026	Auction held; assets split into four brand-line transactions
May 4, 2026	Official committee objects to the 363 sale and files a standing motion
May 6, 2026	Insight Capital objects to the Hot Dog on a Stick sale
May 7, 2026	Debtors move to dismiss the Twin Restaurant New Mexico chapter 11 cases
May 8, 2026	Debtors file a motion to enter into a settlement agreement
May 15-16, 2026	Debtors file proposed sale orders, revised APAs, the emergency Global Settlement motion, and an omnibus reply
May 19, 2026	Court enters all four sale orders (HDOS, Elevation Burger, Twin Peaks, FBG), Final DIP Financing Order, and Order Dismissing Sold Debtors
May 22, 2026	Joint Chapter 11 Plan of Liquidation filed; Motion for Disclosure Statement and Solicitation Approval filed
May 26, 2026	Court extends the debtors' exclusive periods (plan filing to August 24; solicitation to October 26)
May 31, 2026	Court dismisses the Twin Restaurant New Mexico and Seeds of Compassion Fund cases
June 1-2, 2026	Disclosure statement hearing held; court conditionally approves the Disclosure Statement and schedules the combined hearing
June 8, 2026	Debtors file a Sale Closing Notice for the Hot Dog on a Stick assets
June 17, 2026	Modified order conditionally approves the Disclosure Statement and solicitation procedures, resetting the voting deadline and combined hearing
June 22, 2026	Debtors file solicitation versions of the plan and disclosure statement
June 26, 2026	Court authorizes rejection of specified executory contracts effective June 8, 2026
July 20, 2026	Plan voting and plan-objection deadline
July 27, 2026	Combined disclosure-statement-approval and plan confirmation hearing

Frequently Asked Questions

When did FAT Brands file chapter 11? FAT Brands filed chapter 11 on January 26, 2026 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, as Case No. 26-90126.

How is the 363 sale structured? The April 27, 2026 auction divided FAT Brands into four transactions by business line: the FBG Assets (including Round Table Pizza) to FBG Bid Co., the Twin Peaks assets to TWNPKS Bid Co., the Hot Dog on a Stick assets to Amazing Brands, and the Elevation Burger assets to TABCO International. The FBG and Twin Peaks transactions are credit bids by the noteholder group; the Hot Dog on a Stick and Elevation Burger assets drew cash bids of $8 million and $2.5 million. All four sale orders were entered by the court on May 19, 2026.

What is FBG Bid Co.? FBG Bid Co. is the acquisition vehicle the WBS Ad Hoc Group of securitization noteholders used to credit-bid for the FBG Assets — every brand line other than Hot Dog on a Stick, Elevation Burger, and Twin Peaks, including Round Table Pizza. The committee's sale objection reported the FBG silo credit bid at roughly $595 million, the court entered the FBG sale order on May 19, 2026, and the debtors reported the FBG sale had closed in June 2026.

What is the Global Settlement? The Global Settlement is a Bankruptcy Rule 9019 agreement among the debtors, the WBS Ad Hoc Group, the Resid Noteholders, and the official committee of unsecured creditors. It resolves objections to the sale orders and final DIP order, settles the Resid Adversary Proceeding and the committee's challenge rights, allows $445.9 million of unused secured obligations as general unsecured claims, and funds the wind-down of the estates through a noteholder-funded "Funding Amount."

What is the DIP financing package? The DIP facility consists of an FBG silo facility and a Twin silo facility provided by members of the WBS Ad Hoc Group. The Final DIP Financing Order entered May 19, 2026 authorizes up to $46.14 million of FBG New Money DIP Loans and $28.8 million of Twin New Money DIP Loans, plus a 3:1 roll-up of prepetition note claims into the DIP structure.

Why did the official committee object to the sale? The committee argued the noteholders' credit bids fail under section 363(k) because they reach assets that do not secure the noteholders' claims, that the sale would leave the estates administratively insolvent, and that unencumbered assets — including the Atlanta factory, bank accounts holding roughly $699,557, commercial tort claims, and avoidance actions — cannot be acquired by credit bid without a cash payment.

What happened with CEO Andrew Wiederhorn? Wiederhorn agreed to take a leave of absence as part of the mediated settlement in March 2026, which resolved the trustee and suspension motions. Huron Consulting Services LLC was appointed as financial advisor and John C. DiDonato was designated as chief restructuring officer. The Joint Plan of Liquidation filed May 22, 2026 explicitly excludes Wiederhorn, his family members, and their controlled entities from the Released Parties.

What is the status of the Plan of Liquidation? The debtors filed a Joint Chapter 11 Plan of Liquidation on May 22, 2026, following the entry of four sale orders on May 19. The court conditionally approved the disclosure statement on June 2, 2026, then reset the schedule through a June 17, 2026 modified solicitation order after the debtors filed solicitation versions of the plan and disclosure statement on June 22, 2026. The current schedule sets a July 20, 2026 voting and objection deadline and a combined disclosure-statement-approval and confirmation hearing for July 27, 2026. The plan establishes a Liquidation Trust to distribute proceeds under the Global Settlement's recovery waterfall, with $445.9 million of prepetition secured obligations allowed as general unsecured claims.

For related coverage, see ElevenFlo's post on Twin Hospitality Group's chapter 11 and $413M securitization sale, BurgerFi's dual-brand 363 sales and confirmed liquidating plan, Franchise Group's $1.5B debt-for-equity plan, and Neighborhood Restaurant Partners' 53-unit Applebee's chapter 11.

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