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Sale of Theo Davies restaurants is done

The sale of Theo H. Davies & Co.'s food service division to TD Food Group Inc. has been finalized, TD Food said yesterday.

Theo Davies managers partnered with California-based private equity firm Brentwood Associates to buy the 85 Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan, as well as two A&W/Long John Silver's. The 2,289 employees will be retained.

The sale leaves the Theo Davies Federal Credit Union as the only namesake of the Big Five company. Hong Kong-based Jardine Matheson Ltd. bought Davies in 1973.

As part of the restaurant deal, Henry Katsuda, president of Theo Davies Food Service Group, will become president and chief executive of TD Food. Under Katsuda, Theo Davies grew from 24 to 87 restaurants in 20 years. The company's new owners are expected to further expand its offerings, Katsuda said.

Fitch gives Maui bonds AA- rating

Fitch Ratings has given an AA- rating to $52.3 million in general obligation bonds to be issued by Maui County.

The rating reflects the Valley Isle's improved tourism, healthy financial reserves and low debt burden, which comes to $2,328 per capita, Fitch said. The long-term outlook for the island's tourism market, which relies primarily on domestic U.S. visitors, is sound.

UBS PaineWebber will sell the bonds the week of Jan. 5.