Darden is setting Red Lobster adrift, but betting that it can still turn around Olive Garden's fortunes.
Golden Gate Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, has purchased the Red Lobster restaurant business from Darden Restaurants.
The sale is for $2.1 billion and is the end of a long process for Darden to sell or spin-off the seafood chain.
The announcement came despite objections from some shareholders to the plan to separate Red Lobster, which was announced late last year.
Red Lobster, which opened in 1968, helped popularize seafood among Americans and today has about 700 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
The first restaurant in Lakeland, Florida, boasted a menu including a half a dozen oysters for 65 cents and platters with frog legs and hush puppies for $2.50.
Both Olive Garden and Red Lobster have been losing customers in recent years, even as they changed their menus and marketing campaigns to win back business.
Part of the problem is the growing popularity of places like Chipotle and Panera, where customers feel they can get the same quality of food without paying as much or waiting for table service.
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