Wendy's Company is a
holding companyA holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
for the major
fast foodFast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
chain,
Wendy'sWendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
. Its headquarters are in
Sandy Springs, GeorgiaSandy Springs is a city in north Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta. With a 2010 population of 93,853, Sandy Springs is the sixth-largest city in the state and the second-largest city in Metro Atlanta. Sandy Springs is located in north Fulton County, Georgia, just south of...
. The company formerly was known as Deisel-Wemmer Co. (1884-1929), Deisel-Wemmer-Gilbert Corporation (1929-1946), DWG Cigar Corporation (1946-1966), DWG Corporation (1966-1993), Triarc Companies, Inc. (1993-2008) and Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc. (2008-2011).
The company's principal subsidiary,
Wendy's InternationalWendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
, are the
franchisorFranchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
of Wendy's restaurants. The company is also a
franchisorFranchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
of
T.J. CinnamonsT.J. Cinnamons is a cinnamon bun chain operating across the United States, owned by the Wendy's/Arby's Group.The company was founded in 1985 by Ted and Joyce Rice. He was a cameraman for KCTV Channel 5 and she was an elementary school teacher. The first T.J. Cinnamons opened in the Ward Parkway...
and the Pasta Connection and owns 243 T.J. Cinnamons outlets and 6 Pasta Connection outlets.
DWG Years
Wendy's Company traces its history back to several predecessors, the oldest of which (Deisel-Wemmer Co., a cigar manufacturer and importer based in
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
) was founded in 1884. By January 23, 1929, Deisel-Wemmer incorporated as Deisel-Wemmer-Gilbert Corporation (DWG) when acquired by an investment group. DWG was a small outfit and just to keep up market share purchased other small cigar companies like Odin cigars in 1930 and the Bernard Schwartz Cigar Corporation in 1939.
On May 15, 1946, the Company changed its name to a simple name, DWG Cigar Corporation. Another series of acquisitions started in 1948 with the Nathan Elson Company following with A. Sensenbrenner & Sons in 1955 and in 1956 Chicago Motor Club Cigar and
Reading, PennsylvaniaReading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
-based Yocum Brothers. With the weakening of the cigar market due to medical advisories, many smokers switched to cigarettes, which were then believed to be safer. DWG then streamlined cigar operations and began looking for other businesses that might suit DWG's wholesale and distribution strength.
The
New York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
delisted DWG in 1965 after an attempt at purchasing Allegheny Pepsi bottling company failed. DWG, thus free from NYSE reporting requirements, sold their remaining cigar operations or closed them in 1966. Renamed as DWG Corporation, DWG used its cash from the cigar operation sale to purchase a 12% share of the National Propane Corporation. Security Management Company, headed by
Victor PosnerVictor Posner was an American businessman. He was known as one of the highest paid business executives of his generation. He was a pioneer of the leveraged buyout.-Career:...
, a major investor in DWG saw potential with the company as it was bold to sell its main operation. Posner saw it as a good takeover vehicle and became the controlling interest of DWG.
| acquisition |
industry |
Year |
Stake |
| National Propane Corporation |
gas |
1966 |
12% share |
| Wilson Brothers |
shirtmaker |
January 1967 |
controlling interest |
| National Propane Corporation |
gas |
1967 |
77% |
| Southeastern Public Service Company |
medium-size utility maintenance and storage company |
1969 |
40% |
| Southeastern Public Service Company |
medium-size utility maintenance and storage company |
1970 |
11% |
| Graniteville Company |
textile manufacturer |
1982 |
51%+ |
| Axia Incorporated |
|
1984 |
25% |
| Evans Products |
fiber group |
1984 |
|
| Fischbach Fischbach may refer to the following places:*In Austria**Fischbach, Styria, in the Weiz district**Fischbach , part of the municipality Texingtal, Lower Austria*In Germany**Rhineland-Palatinate...
Corp. |
electrical contracting |
1985 |
|
Southeastern Public Service Company subsidiaries
| acquisition |
industry |
Year |
Stake |
| RC Cola |
Beverages |
1984 |
100% |
Arby'sArby's is a fast food restaurant chain in the United States and Canada. Roark Capital Group owns 81.5% of the company, with Wendy's Company owning the other 18.5%. It is primarily known for selling roast beef sandwiches and curly fries. The Arby's menu also includes chicken sandwiches, appetizers,...
|
fast food chain |
1984 |
100% |
| a Texas grapefruit grove |
produce |
1984 |
|
Posner usually placed himself as chairman of the board and president of each company that his Security Management Company subsidiaries, DWG or NVF, a vulcanized fiber manufacturer that controls the other half of Posner's companies. So while collecting reasonable compensation at each company, Posner's overall compensation surpassed major corporation executive pay like
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
. NVF controlled Sharon Steel Corporation, one of the country's largest specialty steel manufacturers, which led to legal trouble. Posner sat on Sharon Steel's pension trustee board and directed the pension board to invest in Posner-owned properties. In 1971 the SEC sued, after which Posner then agreed not to sit on any pension board for any of his companies. Posner basically let those companies that could get by with minimum maintenance and nothing more do just that. With the run of acquisitions from 1982 and 1985, DWG faced heavy debt. Posner approached one of his backers,
Carl Lindner, Jr.Carl Henry Lindner, Jr. was a Cincinnati businessman and one of the world's richest people. According to the 2006 issue of Forbes Magazine's 400 list, Lindner was ranked 133 and was worth an estimated $2.3 billion...
, for assistance. Instead in 1986, Lindner's American Financial Corporation had acquired warrants for more than 30 percent of DWG's shares. Linder backed down from exercising the warrants but forced Posner to reduce his pay from DWG. Posner also started selling off DWG assets: Foxcroft and Enro shirt groups and the citrus operation. A deal for Royal Crown fell through.
An investor that Posner contacted to help get Sharon Steel out of Bankruptcy, indicated that his lawyer, Andrew Heine, might want to buy
FischbachFischbach may refer to the following places:*In Austria**Fischbach, Styria, in the Weiz district**Fischbach , part of the municipality Texingtal, Lower Austria*In Germany**Rhineland-Palatinate...
Corp. Just short of Fischbach being sold, Heine's Granada Investments Company made a bid for all of DWG at $22 per share. Posner converted all DWG options into voting shares but was unable to vote them due to an Ohio judge's order. Granada sued Posner for not taking the bid serious and Posner sued back stating the bid had no merit. Posner lost the case in 1991 and was force to pay $5.5 million to Granada. Further more, the judge noting other investigations in illegal stock trading in the Fischbach acquision and of Posner's compensation added three court-appointed directors to DWG's board as audit, compensation, and intercorporate transactions committees.
Posner stopped the appointed directors from presenting their report to the full board forcing Judge Lambros to convert 50% of Security Management Company ownership in DWG to preferred shares and to sell the remaining common stock. Posner resigned as chair of DWG in 1992 and sold his shares to Trian Group, a New York-based investment partnership led by
Nelson PeltzNelson Peltz is an American businessman. He is a board director of Wendy's Group, the franchise parent of T.J. Cinnamons, Pasta Connection and Wendy's. Peltz is the former owner of Snapple.- Background :...
and Peter May. Shareholders agreed to drop their longstanding lawsuits claiming that DWG was raided and stripped.
Triarc
In 1993, DWG's name was changed to Triarc Companies, Inc. Peltz served as CEO of the company from 1993 through 2007, during which time the company sold several holdings in order to focus on food and beverage operations after initially deciding on focusing on soft drinks, fast food, textiles, and liquefied petroleum gas.
Triarc in August 1995 purchased Mistic Brands, Inc. from Joseph Victori Wines, Inc. for $97 million, adding to its beverage holdings of Royal Crown Cola, and turned Mistic Brands around with the addition of new products. Triarc sold off its textiles by 1997.
In 1997, Triarc acquired
Snapple BeveragesSnapple is a brand of tea and juice drinks which is owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group and based in Plano, Texas. The brand was founded in 1972. The brand achieved some notoriety due to various pop-culture references including television shows.-History:...
from
Quaker OatsThe Quaker Oats Company is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by Pepsico since 2001.-History:Quaker Oats was founded in 1901 by the merger of four oat mills:...
, which had bought the company from
leveraged buyoutA leveraged buyout occurs when an investor, typically financial sponsor, acquires a controlling interest in a company's equity and where a significant percentage of the purchase price is financed through leverage...
firm
Thomas H. Lee PartnersThomas H. Lee Partners is a private equity firm based in Boston, Massachusetts specializing in leveraged buyouts, growth capital, special situations, industry consolidations, and recapitalizations....
in 1994 for $1.7 billion. Quaker discontinued the
Wendy the Snapple Lady (Wendy Kaufman)Wendy Kaufman is an American best known for being the spokesperson for Snapple and for her two stints on Celebrity Fit Club.-Life and career:...
advertisements and sold Snapple to Triarc for $300 million in 1994. Triarc reintroduced Wendy the Snapple Lady. Cable Car Beverage Corporation, maker of
Stewart's Root BeerStewart's Fountain Classics are a brand of premium soft drinks made in the United States. Stewart's are nostalgic "old fashioned" fountain sodas, having originated at the Stewart's Restaurants, a chain of root beer stands started in 1924 in Mansfield, Ohio. In 1990, the bottling rights to...
and other flavors, was purchased by Triarc in November 1997.
National Propane Corporation was sold in 1999.
Snapple, Mistic, and Stewart's (formerly Cable Car Beverage) was sold by the company to Cadbury Schweppes in 2000 for $1.45 billion In October of that same year, Cadbury Schweppes purchased Royal Crown from Triarc.
Wendy's/Arby's
On April 24, 2008, Triarc announced the acquisition of
Wendy'sWendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
, the international fast food company. The transaction was part of the company's strategy to transition from a holding company for varied businesses into a true food and beverage company. The purchase was finalized on September 15, 2008, when shareholders of both Triarc and Wendy's agreed to the terms. As part of the terms, the name was changed to Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc.
The Wendy's Company
In January 2011, the group announced it was divesting itself of the Arby's chain which had seen lacklustre sales growth since the acquisition of Wendy's in 2008. It was officially announced the companies had split on January 21, 2011. On June 13, 2011, Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. announced that it would sell the majority of its Arby's chain to
Roark Capital GroupRoark Capital Group is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout investments in middle-market companies primarily in consumer and business services companies. Roark has historically focused on the franchise, food and restaurant, specialty retail, environmental services, waste management,...
, maintaining an 18.5% stake in the company.
External links