Popeyes said to have snubbed rival bid in sale
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc., which said Tuesday it agreed to be bought by Restaurant Brands International Inc. for about $1.8 billion, received a rival bid from Arby’s Restaurant Group Inc. during the sale process, according to people familiar with the matter.
The offer from Arby’s, which is backed by Roark Capital Group, would have been structured as a reverse takeover, the people said, asking not be identified as the details of the bid aren’t public. Under the terms offered this weekend, shareholders would have received $40 a share in cash as well as equity in the new combined company, the people said, with Roark owning 80 percent.
The exact per-share valuation for the bid couldn’t be immediately determined.
Burger King-owner Restaurant Brands will pay $79 a share for Popeyes, with the deal expected to close by early April.
Popeyes preferred Restaurant Brands’ all-cash offer because Roark’s bid was seen as having a higher execution risk, the people said. Popeyes’s shares traded close to the Restaurant Brands’ offer price, closing up 19 percent at $78.73. The narrow spread implies traders see little risk of that transaction falling apart.
A spokeswoman for Popeyes declined to comment. Representatives for Arby’s and Roark didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Roark bought Atlantabased sandwich chain Arby’s from Wendy’s Co. in 2011 in a transaction valued about $430 million. The company was founded in Boardman, Ohio, in 1964 by Leroy and Forrest Raffel, who offered fast-food roast beef sandwiches as an alternative to burgers.