Wendy’s May Be Up for Sale

CHICAGO _ Wendy International Inc., the No. 3 hamburger chain, said Monday it has hired an investment bank to explore selling the company.

A special committee of the company’s board of directors “has determined that the exploration of a sale is the appropriate next step in the investigation of value-creating alternatives for our stakeholders,” said James Pickett, Wendy’s chairman and head of the board’s special committee.

The company has been under pressure since earlier this year from investor Nelson Peltz who has pushed for better performance in the wake of the company’s spin-off of Tim Horton’s, a Canadian-based doughnut chain. Hedge fund manager Peltz, who owns the Arby’s restaurant chain, holds nearly 5 percent of Wendy’s outstanding stock.

Analysts have said that a sale could spark a renewal of the hamburger wars that raged in the U.S. during the first part of this decade.

“While a sale remains one of the alternatives under consideration, we believe its merits more thorough examination,” said Pickett. He said the company has hired investment banks JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers to advise the committee on a sale.

The company is also exploring a bond sale that would load the company with debt. Company revenues would be used to repay the bonds. Lehman Brothers is leading that exploration.

The company said it decided to explore a sale after sales slid sharply during the second quarter. Same-store sales were up 3.8 percent at U.S. company restaurants in the first quarter ended March 31 but only were up 0.7 percent second quarter through June 15.

For his part, Peltz is mum on his plans. But Arby’s said earlier this year that it was intent upon growing through acquisitions.

The company said there is no assurance that a deal will be completed.

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