A conglomerate has purchased the Hooters of America Inc. based in Atlanta and its restaurant chain.

A deal that had been announced on Monday stated that it will give a group of private investors in which Chanticleer Holdings Inc. of Charlotte, N. C. will also hold ownership of nearly fifty percent of all domestic Hooters restaurants and more than thirty three percent of those worldwide. The sales price was not divulged.

With this transaction, nearly three decades of family ownership of Hooters comes to an end. It started in Clearwater, Fla. The deal combines as many as one hundred and twenty restaurants from Hooters of America and forty one from Texas Wings, building up an operating company with one hundred and sixty one locations in as many as sixteen states.

Coby Brooks, the CEO of Hooters whose late father led the company, termed it bittersweet to end family ownership. But he further said that the sale will place the company for growth.

Brooks was the man for helping Hooters grow from two locations in the Clearwater area in the year of 1984 to a global brand with four hundred and fifty two restaurants in forty four states and twenty nine countries. The estate had been tied up in court since Brook's death in 2006.

The acquirer is Chanticleer Holdings of Charlotte, NC, which is an investment company which also operates Hooters owned locations in South Africa. Chanticleer will also buy Texas Wings Inc., the biggest franchisee of the overall parent company, Hooters of America.

Financial terms were not brought into open. After the completion of the deal, nearly fifty percent of all Hooters locations will be under corporate ownership, the remainder owned by franchisees.