Posted on 12/12/2005 11:26:02 PM PST by nickcarraway
Wendy's has an angry shareholder at its drive-thru window: Nelson Peltz.
Mr. Peltz, the billionaire investor who turned around Snapple and Arby's, has been quietly buying shares of Wendy's International, the third-largest fast-food company, behind McDonald's and Burger King. Now he plans to propose a radical overhaul of Wendy's and threatens a proxy fight, according to people briefed on his plans.
Over the last year, Wendy's has been the target of several vocal hedge funds that argue that the company has been mismanaged. In July, Wendy's capitulated in part to calls to sell Tim Hortons, its successful Canadian doughnut chain, by announcing plans to spin off 15 to 18 percent of that business.
Now Mr. Peltz, through his new private investment fund, Trian, plans to take the fight several giant steps further. His expected move would come amid a recent surge of campaigns by shareholder activists aimed at some top corporations, including Carl C. Icahn's war against Time Warner and a feud between McDonald's and Pershing Square Capital, which has been calling on the company to split in two.
Unlike most activist funds that focus on companies' balance sheets, Trian styles itself as an "operational activist," taking a page from the playbook of Edward S. Lampert, who manages the fund that took control of Sears and often becomes involved in the dowdy operational details of running the fund's investments.
Trian, which has more than $1 billion, has acquired about 5.5 percent of Wendy's through stock and options. The firm has written a detailed white paper picking apart
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Had Wendy's just the other night for the first time in a long time.
The burger seemed smaller and a LOT greasier than when Dave Thomas ran the place. The fries were awful.
On the bright side, no fingers were included.
Sounds like a placebo effect.
The finger chili Wendy's is the one near Spartna Stadium on Alma and Monterrey Highway.
Or maybe I'm just bigger and leaner than I used to be.
Yeah, I wasn't near there.
More like the Strawberry Hill section of San Jo.
They have great "Frosties" though.
Guess u cant mess that up , but then again maybe u can....lol
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