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Wendy's Puts Sale on Front Burner

Rob Lenihan

Wendy's(WEN Quote), facing deteriorating performance at its burger chain, officially put a company sale on its menu.

The fast-food restaurant operator said Monday that it is exploring a sale of its business, and it also lowered its profit forecast for the year amid "external factors" that are weighing on its turnaround.

Shares were down $1.01, or 2.5%, to $38.72 in recent trading.

News of a potential sale wasn't a complete surprise; the Dublin, Ohio, company said in April that it was evaluating a sale, merger, revision to its strategic plan or change to its capital structure.

James Pickett, Wendy's chairman, said in a statement Monday that the board's special committee "has determined that the exploration of a sale is the appropriate next step in the investigation of value-creating alternatives for our shareholders.

"While a sale remains only one of the alternatives under consideration," he continued, "we believe it merits more thorough examination."

The company said there was no specific timetable for the process.

The news of the possible sale came as Wendy's also warned of a detour in its ongoing turnaround efforts. The company lowered its 2007 earnings forecast to $1.09 to $1.23 a share from an earlier guidance of $1.26 to $1.32. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial project earnings of $1.27 a share.

Wendy's attributed the lower outlook to lower-than-planned sales at established stores and higher-than-expected commodity costs.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, rose 3.8% at U.S. company restaurants in the first quarter and climbed 0.7% in the second quarter through June 15.

"We've delivered 12 consecutive months of positive same-store sales through May, but the last two months have been challenging as we've aggressively adjusted pricing to bring Wendy's more in line with the market," CEO and President Kerrii Anderson said in the company's statement.

Wendy's has made a push to price its menu items relative to the competition in each region, which has lifted some of the products' pricing. This move has pressured sales in the short-term, Anderson said.

"Our employees and operators are producing improved results, but certain external factors have changed and are impacting results," Anderson said.

Analysts initially expressed surprise when Wendy's said in April it was mulling a sale, since at the time it appeared the company was in the middle of a turnaround. But in May, Wendy's largest shareholder, hedge fund Highfields Capital Management, urged the company to look for a buyer.

Wendy's hired JPMorgan as lead adviser and Lehman Brothers as co-adviser in its exploration of a sale.

"Our goal is to move forward expeditiously and to minimize disruption to the company and its operations," said Pickett, who also chairs the board's special committee. "We want management and our operators to focus on executing Wendy's business plan to grow sales and margins."

The special committee is also evaluating a securitization financing, the company said, which could be used by a potential buyer or in a recapitalization.