Wendy's Puts Sale on Front Burner

Wendy's(WEN), 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.