The owner of the Mr Whippy and Cold Rock franchise businesses says he made an offer for Eagle Boys seven months ago after the struggling pizza franchise approached him.
Stan Gordon, chief executive of Franchised Food Company, says he never heard back from Eagle Boys and only learned the company went into voluntary administration from media reports three days ago.
"We got approached in November and made an offer," Mr Gordon told AAP.
"It wasn't accepted or rejected. Our offer wasn't silly. It was realistic.
"The intermediary came to us and said `great we'll back to you next week' and they never did."
Mr Gordon said he has since contacted Eagle Boys' administrators and expressed his interest in the business again.
Eagle Boys went into administration last week and has closed 13 corporate-owned stores, however franchisee stores in the network of about 100 outlets will continue to operate as normal.
Mr Gordon compared the collapse of the business, which is owned by private equity firm NBC Capital, to the demise of Dick Smith Electronics, saying it was another example of private equity firms failing good brands.
"I think when large private equity firms try to run small business - Eagle Boys is a mum and pop business at the franchisee level - things tend to go awry," he said.
While he admitted he wasn't sure how he would turn Eagle Boys around, he said he believed the business had "legs" and could be revived under the right leadership.
Mr Gordon, 55, is a veteran retailer who opened his first Mr Whippy store in 2000.
He is now the majority owner and CEO of Franchised Food Company, which has more than 150 stores across seven brands, including Pretzel World, Nutshack and the recently acquired Healthy Habits business.
Eagle Boys was founded by Tom Potter nearly 30 years ago. Mr Potter sold his stake in the business in 2007.
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