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Nelson Peltz not interested in acquisition WendyAccording to a regulatory filing made on Friday.
Peltz serves as non-executive chairman of the burger chain’s board and serves as chief executive of activist firm Trion Fund Management, its largest shareholder. In May, Trion said it was exploring a possible deal. With the company to “enhance shareholder value” which could include acquisitions or mergers.
“Trion believes the company is well-positioned to deliver significant long-term value for shareholders and looks forward to continuing to work with the board and leadership team to do so,” Peltz said in a statement Friday.
Shares of Wendy’s climbed nearly 5% on Friday.
Trian, which was founded by Peltz, first invested in Wendy’s in 2005, when the fund was initially created. The firm has three board seats at the fast-food company, including one held by Peltz.
The outcome was “widely anticipated” by Wall Street, according to a research note from Kalinowski Equity Research. The lack of a deal frees up time for Peltz, who went public this week with a desire to win a seat disneyBoard through a proxy fight.
Also on Friday, Wendy’s announced a restructuring of its corporate structure and the departures of Chief Financial Officer Leigh Burnside and Chief Commercial Officer and US President Kurt Kane. Burnside would go on to join another unnamed restaurant company, while Kane’s position was terminated.
Wendy’s said the corporate redesign aims to maximize efficiency and streamline decision making. Rival McDonald’s announced a week ago that it is Also improving its corporate structure For similar reasons.
In pre-announcing its fourth-quarter results, Wendy’s said its same-store sales rose 6.4% in the three months ended January 1. Its net sales rose 13.4% to $536.5 million.
The company’s board approved doubling its dividend to 25 cents and spending $500 million on share buybacks.