NEW YORK Trian Fund Management LP, an investment fund controlled by activist investor Nelson Peltz, said Monday that its pending tender offer for shares in Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc. will give it control of 21.6 percent of the restaurant company.
The fund, based here, agreed to purchase 49.4 million shares for about $205 million, according to preliminary results from the fund’s offer, first announced last month. The offer of $4.15 per share led to shareholders tending 219.2 million shares. Trian, however, had only agreed to purchase the 49.4 million shares. When this deal is finalized, Trian will hold 101.5 million shares, or 21.6 percent of the company.
Prior to this offer, Trian held about 52 million shares, or an 11-percent stake, in Wendy’s/Arby’s, which is parent to the Wendy’s and Arby’s quick-service brands that together boast more than 10,000 restaurants. The offer price of $4.15 per share was a 26-percent premium to Wendy’s/Arby’s stock price in early November. This month, the stock has traded between $4.14 and $3.89 per share.
Peltz, currently non-executive chairman at Trian, was instrumental in the merger of Wendy’s former parent Wendy’s International Inc. and Arby’s former parent Triarc Cos. Inc., which created Wendy’s/Arby’s Group. The $2.3 billion deal closed in September. Peltz serves on the new company’s board of directors.