Thursday, April 01, 2010

A Brief Word On Biting Into CKE Restaurants

Carl's Jr. has always served some pretty good burgers.  I've been a fan of their Western Bacon Cheeseburger for decades.  Their Six-Dollar Burger started the trend of mega-sized burgers that other chains started copying.  I'm not as fond of the Hardee's chain, which Carl's Jr. bought years ago to extend their menu and brand worldwide.  The combined entity, known as CKE Restaurants (CKR), is one big juicy hunk of grilled beef. 

It looks like I'm not the only one who wants to bite into what CKR has to offer.  A private equity firm named THL Partners offered to buy them recently, and their only realistic competition for the bid is about to drop out:

Investor Nelson Peltz has reportedly lost interest in making a bid for CKE Restaurants , which is parent to the Hardees and Carls Jr. burger chains.

The New York Post reports that a source close to the process said that while Peltz whose investment firm owns Wendys/Arbys Group - had considered a making a bid to rival THL Partners, he has decided to pass after conducting due diligence.


CKR is still accepting competing bids until April 6, but this is probably the end of the acquisition dance.  Thus, $11.05 is all CKR shareholders will get. They should feel grateful given the poor condition of CKR's balance sheet; negative retained earnings for three years straight is very bad even though the trend is back to positive territory thanks to positive contributions from net income. It will take a long time for CKR to get its share price back up over $20 at this rate, so a buyout is probably the least bad choice.

Nota bene:  Anthony J. Alfidi holds no position in CKR at the time this post was published.