The AIL Restaurant Group has bought the O'Briens Sandwich Bar Brand for the Republic of Ireland from the liquidator, Paul McCann of Grant Thornton.
The company went into liquidation earlier this month. AIL is backed by businessmen Graeme Beere and Denis Desmond.
A statement from AIL - the company behind the Abrakebabra chain - said Mr Beere and Mr Desmond had always respected the O'Briens brand and would put it back on a solid financial footing.
'We have over 25 years of experience in the franchise sector and we are looking forward to working with franchisees, new and old, to ensure that in these testing retail times they feel renewed confidence in the brand, a brand that we believe strongly in,' said Mr Beere.
O'Briens had been one of the big success stories of the Celtic Tiger. Established by entrepreneur and one time Fine Gael candidate Brody Sweeney, the group expanded into Asia, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
But the economic downturn hit the company. Some outlets became vacant while the group was obliged to pay high levels of rent. The franchise business went into examinership in July, which meant it had court protection from creditors.
