Wendy's Franchisee Bidding for Burger Chain

Franchisee to Compete with Billionaire Peltz Over Control of Wendy's International

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The owner of 134 Wendy's restaurants is pitching a bid to buy Wendy's International. David Karam, president of franchisee Cedar Enterprises Inc., is backed by two equity firms, Kelso & Co. and Oak Hill Capital Partners, and has been invited to the bargaining table to compete with billionaire investor Nelson Peltz of Triarc Cos to buy the country's third largest burger chain.

Wendy's in April formed a committee to figure out how best to maximize shareholder's wealth. David Karam seems to want long-term maximization through better operational performance.

As a franchisee, Karam said he fears Wendy's sales and product development would continue to stagnate under owners who do not know the chain as well as he does.

Karam's father, Joseph, was one of Wendy's original investors and became a franchisee in 1975. David Karam has run Cedar Enterprises for 22 years.

Karam has the backing of the family of Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, said Pam Thomas Farber, Thomas' daughter. The family would like to see the company turned over to someone involved in the company, she told The Columbus Dispatch, which first reported Cedar Enterprises' bid.  - Read more at AP