Arby's owner to acquire Wendy's in all-stock deal
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After at least two rejections, billionaire Nelson Peltz has finally succeeded in landing Wendy's in a $2.3 billion deal that would add the chain known for its square burger and chocolate Frosty dessert to his ownership of Arby's and its roast beef sandwiches.
Atlanta-based Triarc Companies Inc., owned by Peltz, said Thursday it will pay about $2.34 billion in an all-stock deal for the nation's third-largest hamburger chain started in 1969 by Dave Thomas. Wendy's had rejected at least two buyout offers from Triarc.
Thomas' daughter, Pam Thomas Farber, said the family was devastated by the news.
Arby's Owner Nelson Peltz Buys Wendy's Restaurants for $2.4 Billion
By Jeannine Thompson In a surprising turn of events in the fast-food restaurant chain world, Nelson Peltz, the owner of the Arby's restaurants, has closed a deal valued at $2.34 billion to buy out the Wendy's restaurants. After having his two original bids rejected by the company, Peltz announced Thursday that he will be purchasing the company in an all-stock deal. His company, Triarc Cos Inc, will be paying about $26.78 per share -- a 5.7 percent premium to their stock's closing price of $25.32 on Wednesday. Wendy's has about 88 million shares of stock outstanding. According to the deal, shareholders at Wendy's will receive 4.25 shares of Triarc Class A stock for each share of Wendy's stock they own. After several turbulent years of slipping sales, the deal looks to possibly be a life saver for the struggling Wendy's restaurant chain. In 2005, the Dublin, Ohio-based company suffered a major blow to its relatively squeaky-clean image after a woman reported that she found a finger in her chili from a San Jose location. Although the claim was later proved to be false, the sensation cost Wendy's over $2.5 million in lost sales, and caused dozens of layoffs.The acquisition will change Triarc's name to also include Wendy's, but there is no word yet on what other changes will be made to the Wendy's restaurants after the deal closes in the second half of 2008. Rising costs of food and a troubled economy have caused the prices of the average menu item at Wendy's to increase, causing further sales loss. With the boost that the company is sure to see after the closing of this deal, hopefully prices will lower, inviting back more of the large customer base that Wendy's enjoys. Recently, marketing attempts by the company have been somewhat of a disaster. After dismal sales, the company was forced to sell off its Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, and spun off its Tim Horton's coffee-and-doughnut chain after being pressured by Peltz and Triarc. Despite the company's compliance with the pressuring from the stockholders and Peltz, the company's stock value only went up slightly. The third-largest hamburger fast-food chain in the United States, Wendy's trails behind McDonald's and Burger King in sales after the two received a boost from international sales. Wendy's, in an effort to regain lost ground, unveiled several new food items for their menu, ranging from hamburgers to sandwich wraps. However, sales have still been sluggish, as the 6,600 restaurant-strong chain showed a loss in revenue from $522 million a year ago, to $513 million.More information: http://www.wendys-invest.com/ne/wen042408.phpWireless messaging lets you receive special text messages about Movie Miguel directly on your cell phone! We will let you know about The Movie Miguel Show, Dj Movie Miguel, TV appearances, events, special announcements, and other information that you just can't live without. You can unsubscribe at any time. To sign up, just enter your cellphone number and hit submit! Standard text message rates apply.
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