News

Arby’s sale official; Wendy’s now ‘The Wendy’s Company’

July 4, 2011

Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. today announced that it has completed the sale of Arby's Restaurant Group Inc. on terms previously announced to a buyer formed by Roark Capital Group, effective as of July 4.

The company will change its corporate name to The Wendy's Company, effective today.

The company's common stock will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "WEN," but will feature a new CUSIP number of 95058W 100.

Stock certificates for outstanding shares of the company are not affected by the name change and will not need to be exchanged.

The Wendy's Company will retain an 18.5 percent common stock interest in the Arby's business. Roland Smith, president and CEO of The Wendy's Company, said the sale provides substantial benefits to stockholders.

"We congratulate Roark on the Arby's acquisition ... We believe in Arby's turnaround and look forward to being able to benefit from the brand's future successes," Smith said.

The Wendy's Company will now focus on the chain's domestic and international growth, a revitalization of its core menu, expanding into new dayparts and modernizing its facilities.

"Our new corporate name and logo signals our commitment to the Wendy's brand following the sale of Arby's. We've incorporated the original Wendy cameo into our new company logo and we're highlighting a phrase that's been a defining point of difference for Wendy's for more than 40 years -- Quality is Our Recipe," Smith said.

To emphasize Wendy's global aspirations, the phrase "Worldwide" was added to its tagline.

Q2 call set

The company will release second quarter 2011 financial results on Aug. 11 before the market opens. Arby's will be reported as a discontinued operation.

A conference call with slides will follow at 10 a.m. ET and will be webcast live from the investor relations page of the company's website.

The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing 877-572-6014 or for international callers by dialing 281-913-8524. A replay will be available two hours after the call and can be accessed by dialing 800-642-1687, or for international callers by dialing 706-645-9291; the conference ID for the replay is 80633768.

The replay will be available until midnight ET Aug. 25. The webcast and accompanying slides will also be archived on the company's website.