Paula Deen Is Cooking Up a ComebackPaula Deen has received a $75 to $100 million cash injection from private-equity firm Najafi Companies, as a concentrated and passionate fan base continues to rally around the embattled chef.
ByGeoff Weiss•
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It's a nation of second chances, y'all.
After facing some heat, Paula Deen is getting back in the kitchen. And the private equity firm Najafi Companies is wagering that Deen's cloying brand -- radically tarnished by her racial remarks last summer -- still has legs.
The Arizona-based company hastendered a roughly $75 to $100 million investment在最近的ly-formed Paula Deen Ventures, with the intention that Deen will move away from pure licensing deals and instead pursue partnerships in which she "hopes to take more ownership," reportsThe Wall Street Journal.
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Deen has tapped food industry veteran Steven Nanula to serve as her new company's chief executive. He declined to name potential partners, but toldThe Journalthat Deen is in talks with several television networks and retail chains, with a host of other prospective deals on her platter.
Once adored for her grandmotherly disposition, Southern-style recipes and affinity for eating whole sticks of butter, Deen's career veered sharply off course when she admitted to using the N-word and longing to plan a "southern plantation" wedding featuring an all-black male wait staff.
Related:Lessons from Paula Deen: How What You Say Can Damage Your Brand
The statements emerged during a lawsuit filed by a former employee alleging racial and sexual discrimination, which was eventually dismissed. Deen's career, however, would be forever marked.
While the majority of her corporate partners including the Food Network, Walmart, Target and Home Depot promptly dropped Deen's programs and products,a small but rabid fan base materialized, as tickets to Deen's Caribbean cruise and book sales for her latest recipe tome -- dubbed theNew Testament-- surged.
Deen told theJournal她坚持“成千上万的folks who signed up on Facebook's "We Support Paula Deen' page," and noted that her magazine subscriptions increased by more than 40 percent last year. She also maintains fruitful business affiliations with Meyer Foods, Universal Furniture and Springer Mountain Chickens.
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