Shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) were up more than 6% on Friday after Nelson Peltz disclosed a stake of less than 1% in the company.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that "John Glass, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said Mr. Peltz could urge Starbucks to cut spending and use more licensing or franchising in opening locations. The money saved from that could go to buying back shares or a larger dividend for shareholders."

Perhaps. He very well could urge Starbucks to do that -- but take a quick look at the chart for the company that Mr. Peltz is chairman of -- Triarc (NYSE: TRY). The stock closed at $6.69 on Friday, after beginning 2007 at more than $20 per share. And how's the corporate governance over there? One company that engaged in a proxy fight with him blasted him 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.

Most likely Peltz's stake is a nonissue and will lead to no changes. I certainly don't buy that it's a rational reason for the stock to add more than half a billion dollars to its market cap in a single day.

HJ Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) should have really strong sales this week leading up to Sunday's Super Bowl. With more interest this year than in any Super Bowl in recent memory, with the two storylines of the Patriots trying to run the table, and a New York team in the big game, not only should TV ratings skyrocket, but I would expect the number of Super Bowl parties to be up as well. Clearly that will benefit the condiment maker.

Heinz is trading toward the bottom of its 52-week range and sports a yield of over 3%. What makes this even more interesting is that investing guru Nelson Peltz owns a share. About two months ago, Peltz filed a prospectus for the $750 million initial public offering of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Due to the ways SPACs are set up, he will need to make some kind of acquisition, and that deal may just be Heinz.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer has no position in any stock mentioned as of 1/27/08

A fund affiliated with restaurant super-investor Nelson Peltz has acquired a 14% stake in Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE), sending shares of the dining chain up 10% on Wednesday.

The company said that it "has had a preliminary conversation with Triarc (Pelz's firm) already, and looks forward to continuing that dialogue."

According (subscription required) to the Wall Street Journal, "Mr. Peltz has bought stakes in several other restaurant and food companies, including Wendy's International Inc.(NYSE: WEN) and H.J. Heinz Co (NYSE: HNZ). At those companies, he has pressed directors and executives to sell brands, increase marketing or otherwise change their strategies in an effort to raise their stock prices. Mr. Peltz has said he prefers to work with existing management to effect change, though in the past his involvement has prompted reshuffling of company management and boards."

Cheesecake Factory has struggled to provide investors with strong returns over the past few years, and was scraping a multi-year low before the Petlz announcement sent the stock up.

Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz says his company Triarc (NYSE: TRY) would be be willing to buy Wendy's (NYSE: WEN). In a letter to the chairman of Wendy's also filed with the SEC, Peltz wrote that:

We believe that Triarc is a natural, strategic buyer for the company and should be encouraged to participate in the sale process the Special Committee is conducting. You should be aware that Triarc presently anticipates that it would be prepared to offer consideration in the range of $37.00 to $41.00 per share to Wendy's shareholders. This represents a premium of 10% to 22% over last Friday's closing price for Wendy's stock and a premium of 15% to 28% over the closing price of Wendy's stock on April 24, 2007, the day before the company announced the formation of the Special Committee.

Peltz is unhappy with certain clauses of a confidentiality agreement that Wendy's management wants him to enter into before they begin negotiations on a possible sale.

Shares of Wendy's are up 7.60% on the news after-hours to $36.25, slightly below the lower end of the range that Peltz suggested for his offer.