Can a business acquired by Ledgers have competing outlets within my Ledgers Territory?

According to Ledgers's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Ledgers, its parent, and affiliates have the right to engage in transactions with other businesses, even those that are competitive and have outlets within a franchisee's territory. Specifically, Ledgers can own, develop, acquire, be acquired by, merge with, or otherwise engage in any transaction with another business, regardless of whether it competes with the franchisee's business and has competing outlets within the franchisee's territory.

However, Ledgers makes one key promise to the franchisee: it will not convert any acquired business in the franchisee's territory into a Ledgers franchise using Ledgers's primary trademarks during the term of the Franchise Agreement. This provides some protection to the franchisee, as the acquired business cannot directly become a Ledgers-branded outlet.

This clause is important for prospective franchisees to understand. While Ledgers reserves the right to acquire businesses that compete with existing franchisees, they are restricted from converting those acquired businesses into Ledgers franchises during the term of the agreement. This offers a limited form of territorial protection, but franchisees should be aware that competition from acquired businesses is still possible.