| Item 7.01 | Regulation FD Disclosure. |
As previously disclosed by The Wendy’s Company (the “Company”), NPC Quality Burgers, Inc. (“NPC”), the Company’s largest franchisee, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2020 and commenced a process to sell all or substantially all of its assets, including its interests in approximately 393 Wendy’s® restaurants across eight different markets, pursuant to a court-approved auction process.
The Company is actively participating in the chapter 11 proceedings and continues to evaluate its strategic alternatives in connection with the sale process. On November 18, 2020, the Company submitted a consortium bid together with a group of pre-qualified franchisees to acquire NPC’s Wendy’s restaurants. If the consortium bid is ultimately successful, the Company expects that several existing and new franchisees would be the ultimate purchasers of most of the NPC markets, with the Company acquiring at most one or two markets. The Company remains committed to maintaining its ownership level of approximately 5% of the total Wendy’s system.
There can be no assurances regarding the outcome of NPC’s chapter 11 proceedings, including whether the consortium bid or any other sale will be successful.
The information in this Item 7.01 shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section. Furthermore, the information in this Item 7.01 shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into the filings of the Company under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act.
Forward Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form 8-K contains certain statements that are not historical facts, including statements regarding the Company’s participation in NPC’s chapter 11 proceedings and the Company’s ownership level of the Wendy’s system. Those statements, as well as statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “will,” “may,” “believes,” “intends,” “plans,” “expects,” “anticipates,” or similar expressions constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Reform Act”). The forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s expectations at the time, speak only as of the dates they are made and are susceptible to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. These factors include, but are not limited to, the factors identified in the “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Projections” and “Risk Factors” sections of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For all forward-looking statements, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Reform Act.
2
