Wendy's new Frosty flavors - how about one made with just milk? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 May 2008 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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.

Peltz gets involved in Starbucks -- what does he have to add? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 17 May 2008 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Triarc plans job cuts at Wendy's originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 May 2008 12:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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.

Nelson Peltz calls out Wendy's: Is he one to talk? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Peltz acquires 14% stake in Cheesecake Factory

Peltz acquires 14% stake in Cheesecake Factory originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wendy's takeover offer victim of subprime beef originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nelson Peltz is offering to buy Wendy's (NYSE:WEN), but no one seems to want to say for how much. According to TheStreet.com,"in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday, Triarc (NYSE:TRY) said it submitted an offer Monday to buy all of Wendy's shares, primarily with cash."

Peltz had indicated that he thought Wendy's was worth between $37 and $41 a share when he started talking to the company in July. The shares now trade below $32, so investors should not expect much of a premium.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Peltz offers to buy Wendy's (WEN), price not disclosed originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading More news about Wendy's (WEN) possible sale

More news about Wendy's (WEN) possible sale originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 Sep 2007 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Billionaire Nelson Peltz may have thought he had the inside track to buy Wendy's (NYSE: WEN) since his Triarc Group already owns Arby's.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Peltz will have competition from a group including Thomas H. Lee Partners LP, Oaktree Capital, and First National Financial. The head of First National once ran the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's chains. And, a third group has come to the table, this one backed by Kelso & Co. and Oak Hill Capital Partners.

Unlike several private equity deals that are falling apart because of tight credit markets, the Wendy's deal looks like it may be done at a nice premium for shareholders. Wall Street anticipates that the company could go for $37 to $41 a share. Wendy's stock is under $34.

Why is this deal different from others? Perhaps because the most visible bidders have a great deal of experience in the fast food business. This may give them more confidence that they will know which parts of the company can be improved to yield better cash flow.

That makes Wendy's shareholders more fortunate than those in other companies being pursued for buy-outs.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Wendy's (WEN): Nelson Peltz gets some competition originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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.

Arby's owner says he'll make offer for Wendy's originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Jul 2007 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I went to Arby's for lunch today to pick my "5 for 5.95" and I must say it's overwhelming.

Continue reading Arby's takes "super-size" to the next level

Arby's takes "super-size" to the next level originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 May 2007 00:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In addition to Wendy's (NYSE: WEN) management's recent hiring of JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) and Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) to help review strategic options for the company, the fast-food restaurant has decided to throw its hat into the breakfast ring by signing an exclusive deal with Proctor & Gamble (NYSE: PG). The deal allows Wendy's to be the only major fast-food restaurant chain to offer a proprietary blend of Folgers Gourmet Selections coffee and will become part of Wendy's new breakfast menu.

The best part of waking up is Folgers in your Wendy's coffee cup originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 May 2007 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.