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.
Wendy’s died with Dave Thomas.
I used to frequent a Wendy’s near where I worked at the time. Everything still looked and tasted exactly like it did in the 1980s.
I went there again a week after Dave Thomas died and everything was different. The meat was smaller and tasted different, the fries were overcooked. It was obvious what changed and why.
On the wall next to the registers was a giant poster memorializing Dave and talking about how they would always do things “Dave’s way.” I never went back.
…There is an exception to this. Wendy’s tried a long time ago to open restaurants in Japan and failed. But several years ago they did it again, this time partnering with another existing fast food restaurant called First Kitchen. The participating locations have the genuine Wendy’s logo next to theirs and a lot of the classic menu items including the shakes.
It doesn’t taste like classic Wendy’s, but it tastes way better than what I remember from the last time I ate a Wendy’s in America.
Are you American?
Wendy’s is pretty damn good in Canada. Similar tier as A&W, and a clear step above McDonald’s and Burger King
Good to hear. I’ve never been in Canada for longer than an afternoon, so I wouldn’t have known. I imagine that, like Japan, the locations there are owned by a local company rather than Wendy’s proper.
Are you American?
I was born there, but I got better.
I feel like I should be allowed to upvote this comment twice. The second one just for the last sentence.
Right? And as fast food in general has gone up, the price disadvantage has really dwindled imo. $5 more over $5 is a 100% increase. But when McD’s sits at $15 and Wendy’s is still only $5 more…
Not that I go to either anymore because they’re American and I’m a combatant in a trade war, but the theory was sound. The only Canadian I’m betraying is Galen FUCKING Weston who is philosophically American.
Oh absolutely this too. At this point I think Wendy’s is even cheaper. 12.79 for Big Mac combo, vs 8.99 for Dave single combo (it’s a special, but regular price is 11.09).
I’m so upset there are no A&Ws near me. The food is pretty good (imo on par with Sonic, which has always been consistently good for me), and the drinks are pretty tasty too. Plus the A&W root beer is amazing.
Sonic has the worst burgers in fast food.
Overseas versions of domestic chains often seem to be better, presumably because people there wouldn’t put up with substandard fare or to make market entry easier.
KFC in Asia is pretty good. Pizza Hut locations are actually a decent dining experience as well.
An exception to this would be the Tim Hortons stores they tried to open in Korea. Just as meh as here - maybe with less hobo BO in the corner table - and you could get better, fresher options within a block for the same price or better.
I visited a KFC in Korea and it was bad.
Granted, American KFC is equally bad (in different ways) but, man, some of the worst fried chicken on the peninsula.
I was just in Japan and tried Wendy’s there and had what was the most disgusting burger I’ve ever eaten in my life (the truffle and mozzarella baconator). Not only could I or anyone else in my group eat more than a few bites, but it also made me nauseous and vomit a few hours later when we got back to our AirBnB.
I had no idea public opinion had turned on Wendy’s. I had always considered them a superior fast food burger and I look forward to whenever they add the pretzel bun to the menu.
pretzel bun to the menu.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! Daves single with 3 slices of bacon, fucking perfect on the pretzel bun.
They lost their way when they got rid of the solariums.
Wendy’s used to be a comfort food for me, and now I don’t even go. They were fine until they started messing with the fries, but they also started trying too hard with limited time products and the new frosty things.
My main complaint about Wendy’s is the church crowd, go there around noon on a Sunday and you’ll see an extremely specific demographic
You mean to say that all the savings from their AI drive-through agents hasn’t helped???
Yeah it was probably me buying their $5 biggie bag and never anything else that put them in dire straights. Definitely wasn’t the AI stuff.
Trian Fund Managment (Trian Partners) is an “activist investor.” Expect them to disassemble Wendy’s.
IOW, prepare to say goodbye to Wendy’s as we know it.
Wendy’s isn’t a “rival” of Five Guys or In-n-Out. That’s like calling The Lexington Legends “rivals” of The San Diego Padres, and New York Yankees. The latter are playing in a different league.
The very last time I ate at a Wendy’s, the burger I got was literally full of hair, like dragged across a dirty floor. I immediately complained and sent pics to their complaint department. It took them two months to respond, telling me I’d be contacted by the owner of the restaurant. It took him another month to respond, saying he’d like to meet me in person to apologize. Three months to get a reply… I told him I had no intention of meeting with him, I did not accept his apology, and I would never eat at a Wendy’s again. Moreover, I put the pics up on the review page for their location. They shut down a few months later.
Wendy’s can get fucked.
Til there are Wendy’s outside of the US.
Wendys went downhill hard in recent years. I used to love their hamburgers more than any other nationwide chain. Now I order a burger from them and it’s dry as fuck and flavorless. And it’s more expensive than a competitor. It got to the point that McDs was even a better option because of the consistency.
Their fries are also unforgivably terrible. Soggy, undercooked, and flaccid piles of starch with potato skin tips that taste like burnt paper.
Really a shame because I grew up going to Wendy’s and had a fond view of the place. The only thing left that is any good is the frosty.
Bun, mayo, toppings, burger, bun
Fries and shake combo for 20 dollars
Fast food sucks.
Wendy’s accused of cutting beef with plant-based material, health markers improved, people enraged and ready to slam!
Begun, the franchise wars has.
If beef prices come back down, it’s a good time to buy a dip.
When do prices ever come back down? They learned people will pay scam prices so they will keep scamming regardless of what the beef market does.
We’re still paying a small portion of what beef should cost if you subtract the nonsense corn subsidies and such. It’s a luxury product treated like a staple.
Introducing the Never Frozen vegetable protein with a side of beef burgers!
Around here Wendy’s went the way of Burger King, terribly managed, full of uncaring workers.
When was the last time you saw a fast food worker give a shit? I’d assume plenty of them or foreign workers who can’t get a real job with whatever actual qualifications they have…I wouldn’t care either
Preparing food for people is an important job, if I was going to do it I would do it right.
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.
Sir, this is a Lemmy.
