Wendy’s shares jumped more than 14% Wednesday after noted investor Nelson Peltz made an offer to buy the chain, which has been struggling with high beef prices and aging stores.
Peltz’s Trian Fund Management and several partners are offering Wendy’s $7.35 per share in cash, or a premium of nearly 19% over the stock’s closing price on Tuesday, in a deal that would take the company private.
Wendy’s, which is based in Dublin, Ohio, confirmed receipt of the unsolicited proposal in a statement Wednesday and said its board has formed an independent committee to evaluate it. At the end of last year, Wendy’s had 5,969 restaurants in the U.S. and 1,428 outlets in 38 countries.
Wendy’s, founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas and named after his daughter, is known for its square burgers and Frosty desserts. The fast-growing chain introduced the drive-thru window in 1970 and went public in 1976. In the 1980s, as it jockeyed for sales with McDonald’s and Burger King, Wendy’s launched salad bars and ran its iconic “Where’s the beef?” ad campaign.
But as the fast-food market grew even more competitive and rival burger-focused chains like In-N-Out and Five Guys expanded, Wendy’s fell behind. Wendy’s share of U.S. burger chain sales fell from 11.5% in 2019 to 10.4% last year, according to Technomic, a market research company.
That attitude starts at the top. As a younger man I worked at a regional chain (Taco Time) at one of their company-owned locations. It rocked. Competitive pay, respectful leadership, a commitment to cleanliness and quality, we even collaborated with the test kitchen to refine new products (I gave feedback on the habanero hot sauce that made it to menu). I felt appreciated and fairly treated so I happily stood behind the product.
Then I moved and got hired on at a franchise. It was night-and-day. The owner was a cheapskate who wouldn’t replace anything until it was beyond broken, and even then it was usually the manager who went to the cash & carry for stuff. Knives never sharp enough, everything worn and stained, infrequent portion and procedure testing, ingredients kept around just a little too long. The manager was big on being liked but not actually good at handling people and hired a string of frankly terrible candidates (one of which physically threatened me for correcting him during training). Standards slip. I regret not simply walking out the day they yelled at me in front of a customer but the shift lead was actually cool and I didn’t want to inconvenience her too terribly, so I quit the next day.
I boycotted that location until everyone I recognized was gone and it seems to be a little better now. The food tastes fresher at least.
Yep look at your average Chick-Fil-A vs the average Burger King. Night and day difference. Actually the Chick-Fil-A employees almost seem brainwashed, but the food is great!
I’m not giving my money to a homophobic enterprise.