NEW YORK As expected, activist investor Nelson Peltz has resigned as chairman of Arby's parent Triarc Cos. and surrendered his chief executive's title to Roland Smith, chief executive of the holding company's lone remaining business, Arby's Restaurant Group Inc.
Simultaneously, longtime Peltz lieutenant Peter May stepped down as president and chief operating officer of Triarc.
Both resignations are in accordance with contracts signed in April 2007 and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. They come as Peltz is pressuring Wendy's International Inc. to facilitate Triarc's participation in the due-diligence process for selling the burger giant. In a letter sent Tuesday to Wendy's chairman Jim Pickett, Peltz cited Triarc as a "natural, strategic buyer" for the burger chain (see earlier story).
Trian Fund Management L.P., an investment concern controlled by Peltz, May and associates, holds a 9.8 percent stake in Wendy's.
In the April securities filing, Triarc also said “substantially all” of its 50 corporate headquarters employees would leave the company by year-end. In explanation, Triarc cited its transition to a publicly traded company, and said cost-saving tactics would include a transfer of senior executive responsibilities to the Atlanta-based Arby’s Restaurant Group.
Peltz and May continue to wield a combined 34.4 percent of Triarc’s voting power. The April filing indicated that they will receive contract settlements of $50 million and $25 million, respectively, upon leaving Triarc.Peltz and May continue remain on Triarc's board as non-executive chairman and vice-chairman, respectively.
When Peltz and May disclosed their intention in April to resign their Triarc posts, the action was characterized by some as a way for the investors to avoid accusations of a conflict of interest in Triarc's pursuit of Wendy's.
Smith has been Arby¹s CEO since April 2006 and became a Triarc director in June of this year.