Overview
Tom Donaldson, long-time CEO of Canadian restaurant mainstay Edo Japan, didn’t think a private equity firm would be interested in a smaller company. He was wrong. Yellow Point saw—and sees —big potential in the Edo brand. In 2015 Yellow Point partnered with Tom on a buyout and has worked with the Edo team since then to accelerate the company’s growth in markets across Canada.
Best of Both Worlds
“I still believed in Edo. Being able to go along for the ride by rolling some equity has been great. If a company like Yellow Point sees potential in the company, then you think, why am I selling? The route we took was the best of both worlds for me—I got to take cash out, but also got to participate in future growth of the company.”
Nice is Good Business
“They’re smart about leveraging the people in their network. When they’re looking at restaurant deals they’ll call me and say, ‘Tom, what do you think of this?’ It’s not just that they’re nice, they’re smart and realize that tapping the experience of their partners is good business.”