After months of dozens of restaurant closings and headlines about 맥스카지노�endless shrimp맥스카지노� woes, Red Lobster is poised to soon exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved the casual seafood chain's reorganization plan and sale to a lender group led by asset manager Fortress. The green light arrives under just four months after Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy protection as it pursued a sale, following years of mounting losses and dwindling customers while it struggled to keep up with competitors.At the time of filing in May, Red Lobster's leadership shared plans to 맥스카지노�simplify the business맥스카지노� through a reduction of locations. The Orlando, Florida, chain shuttered dozens of its North American restaurants in recent months 맥스카지노� both leading up to and during the bankruptcy process. That includes more than 50 locations whose equipment was put up for auction just days before the Chapter 11 petition, followed by dozens of additional closures throughout the bankruptcy process.Red Lobster said Thursday that it expects to operate about 544 locations across the U.S. and Canada upon emerging from bankruptcy. That's down from 578 disclosed as of May맥스카지노�s filing.Under terms of the acquisition, which is expected to close at the end of September, the chain will continue to operate as an independent company.The chain will also get a new CEO 맥스카지노� Damola Adamolekun, former chief executive of P.F. Chang맥스카지노�s.Adamolekun was appointed to head RL Investor Holdings, the newly formed entity acquiring Red Lobster, by Fortress last week. In a statement Thursday, Adamolekun said that Red Lobster 맥스카지노�has a tremendous future맥스카지노� and thanked Jonathan Tibus, who will leave the company and step down as CEO, for his leadership during the bankruptcy process.Red Lobster맥스카지노�s purchaser is also providing additional funding to help the Orlando, Florida-based chain get back on its feet post-emergence. Adamolekun said the company맥스카지노�s long-term investment plan includes a commitment of more than $60 million in new funding.Red Lobster has seen multiple ownership changes over the course of its 56-year history. The chain was founded back in 1968 by Bill Darden, who sold Red Lobster to General Mills in 1970. General Mills later went on to form Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden and other chains. Darden Restaurants was spun off from General Mills in 1995.Darden Restaurants later sold Red Lobster to a private equity firm in 2014. Thai Union Group, one of the world맥스카지노�s largest seafood suppliers, first invested in Red Lobster in 2016 and upped its stake in 2020 맥스카지노� but announced its intention to exit its minority investment earlier this year.When announcing plans to divest in January, CEO Thiraphong Chansiri said the COVID-19 pandemic, industry headwinds and rising operating costs from Red Lobster had resulted in 맥스카지노�prolonged negative financial contributions to Thai Union and its shareholders.맥스카지노� It reported a $19 million loss from Red Lobster for the first nine months of 2023.While not the sole reason, among sources of loss were 맥스카지노� yes 맥스카지노� those endless shrimp. Last year, Red Lobster significantly expanded the iconic all-you-can-eat special. But customer demand overwhelmed what the chain could afford. Thai Union leadership later noted that the deal맥스카지노�s $20 price tag wasn맥스카지노�t making enough money.