Real Mex Restaurants Is Bought

Real Mex Restaurants Inc., which operates the Chevys and El Torito chains, was purchased by a unit of buyout firm Sun Capital Partners Inc. for $359 million in cash.

Real Mex agreed to be bought by the Sun Capital affiliate Aug. 17 and the transaction closed Monday, the Cypress-based restaurant group said Wednesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Real Mex operates 196 company-owned restaurants in 13 states and 50 franchised locations in the U.S. and other countries.

Sun Capital of Boca Raton, Fla., has invested in more than 125 companies with total sales of more than $30 billion since it was founded in 1995. It has invested in the Lillian Vernon catalog and Mervyns department stores.