Peltz Group Offers $1.4 Billion For Wendy's

Nelson Peltz and a group of financial partners have proposed acquiring Wendy's in a deal that would take the restaurant chain private. The offer, disclosed Wednesday, October 28, values Wendy's at about $1.4 billion and would pay shareholders $7.35 per share in cash. Shares of Wendy's rose about 15% after the announcement.

The proposal is led by Peltz's Trian Fund Management, working with Flynn Group, BlueFive Capital and Sixth Street Partners. Trian and related investors already hold roughly 16.3% of Wendy's stock. The offer price sits nearly 20% above where the stock closed on Tuesday.

The investor group says private ownership would let Wendy's pursue long-term changes without quarterly pressure from public stock markets. The chain has dealt with declining customer traffic, higher ingredient costs and competition from other fast-food restaurants. Wendy's has closed underperforming locations to improve profitability while struggling to reverse declining sales at existing restaurants.

Wendy's confirmed receiving the unsolicited proposal and said a committee of independent directors will review it with financial and legal advisers. The offer is nonbinding, and the company has not agreed to a sale. Any transaction would require further negotiation and approval before Wendy's could leave the public stock market.