Nelson Peltz isn't too happy with Wendy's (NYSE: WEN), which quickly rejected two of his bids for the company, including a plan to combine Wendy's with Arby's, a fast-food chain owned by Triarc (NYSE: TRY), a company chaired by Mr. Peltz.
Normally I'm pretty sympathetic to the campaigns of activist investors, but Peltz has a pretty poor record on corporate governance. During his proxy fight with Heinz back in 2006, the company responded to his calls for change with this: "Triarc received a corporate governance rating of 21.5, exceeding only 21.5% of all companies in the S&P SmallCap 600 and ranking it in the bottom quartile. Separately, Corporate Library gave Triarc an 'F' on overall board effectiveness -- the lowest possible rating."
So it appears that Peltz may not be walking corporate governance talk. But then again, Wendy's has also been a prodigious destroyer of shareholder value of late, so this is kind of like trying to decide between leaving the kids with Britney or K-Fed.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-21-2008 @ 2:59PM
WEN said...
Contrary to the story that Peter May/Peltz is trying to spin, the Trian offer isn’t in the best interest of shareholders. In fact, Trian’s bid is an insult to shareholders, all one needs to do is to look at Arby’s performance under Trian’s leadership before everyone rushes to conclude that Peltz is a knight in shining armor. Arby’s has had no significant earnings since 2000, same store sales have been flat, and according to Zagat’s 2007 Fast Food Chains survey, Arby’s has “older” and “tired” facilities and “poor” service. To be sure, I don’t think Wendy’s needs this kind of guidance.
It’s time for the Special Committee to conclude this process. Keeping the company and its management team in limbo and at the mercy of Peltz and his minions for a year hasn’t been in anyone’s best interest, especially the shareholders. This management team knows it must deliver better results but they’re hamstrung to move forward until this special committee makes a decision. Wendy’s has made some important strides but they need the special committee process to conclude so that they can move forward.
4-21-2008 @ 2:58PM
WEN said...
Contrary to the story that Peter May/Peltz is trying to spin, the Trian offer isn’t in the best interest of shareholders. In fact, Trian’s bid is an insult to shareholders, all one needs to do is to look at Arby’s performance under Trian’s leadership before everyone rushes to conclude that Peltz is a knight in shining armor. Arby’s has had no significant earnings since 2000, same store sales have been flat, and according to Zagat’s 2007 Fast Food Chains survey, Arby’s has “older” and “tired” facilities and “poor” service. To be sure, I don’t think Wendy’s needs this kind of guidance.
It’s time for the Special Committee to conclude this process. Keeping the company and its management team in limbo and at the mercy of Peltz and his minions for a year hasn’t been in anyone’s best interest, especially the shareholders. This management team knows it must deliver better results but they’re hamstrung to move forward until this special committee makes a decision. Wendy’s has made some important strides but they need the special committee process to conclude so that they can move forward.