Exhibit 99.1
For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Anne A. Tarbell
Triarc Companies, Inc.
212/451-3030
www.triarc.com
TRIARC SUBMITS BID TO ACQUIRE SYBRA, INC.
New York, NY, May 1, 2002 - Triarc Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRY) announced
today that it has submitted a bid to acquire Sybra, Inc., the second largest
franchisee of the Arby's(R) brand.
Sybra, Inc., a subsidiary of I.C.H. Corporation, and currently in Chapter
11, owns and operates 239 Arby's restaurants in nine states located primarily in
Michigan, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida.
In return for 100% of the equity of a reorganized Sybra, Triarc would make
a $10 million investment and Sybra would remain exclusively liable for its
long-term debt and capital lease obligations, which aggregated approximately
$104 million as of December 29, 2001, on terms to be agreed upon. In addition,
Triarc would make available $2 million to be paid to ICH's creditors.
Commenting on the proposal, Nelson Peltz, Triarc's Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, said: "We believe that the acquisition of Sybra's 239 stores
would solidify Triarc's commitment to investing in the Arby's brand and the
Arby's system. We envision the Sybra acquisition as presenting opportunities to
strengthen the Arby's brand, to demonstrate the benefits of remodeling and to
selectively re-franchise restaurants to both new and existing franchisees. We
also believe that ownership of these restaurants will increase the value of the
Arby's brand and thus enhance shareholder value."
Peltz added: "While there have been other proposals made to acquire Sybra,
we believe that Triarc's proposal is higher and better."
In February 2002, ICH and its principal subsidiaries, including Sybra, each
voluntarily filed petitions for reorganization under chapter 11 of the
Bankruptcy Code. Sybra has stated that the purpose of the filings was to
separate Sybra's Arby's operations from certain ongoing ICH liabilities related
to ICH's former ownership of the California-based Lyon's restaurant chain. To
date, the filings appear to have helped preserve Sybra's Arby's operations,
allowing essentially all of Sybra's restaurants to continue to operate without
disruption.
Triarc is a holding company and, through its subsidiaries, is the
franchisor of Arby's(R) restaurants.
# # #
Notes To Follow
NOTES
1. There can be no assurance that the proposed acquisition of Sybra will be
accepted by Sybra or its creditors or approved by the Bankruptcy Court. In
addition, there can be no assurance that such acquisition will be completed, or,
if completed, that Sybra will be successfully integrated with the operations of
Triarc and its subsidiaries, including Arby's, Inc. In addition, there can be no
assurance that Triarc will be able to identify and effect any other acquisitions
or business combinations or, if completed, that any such acquisitions or
business combinations will be successfully integrated with the operations of
Triarc and its subsidiaries.
2. The statements in this press release that are not historical facts,
including, most importantly, information concerning possible or assumed future
results of operations of Triarc Companies, Inc. and its subsidiaries
(collectively, "Triarc" or the "Company") and statements preceded by, followed
by, or that include the words "may," "believes," "expects," "anticipates" or the
negation thereof, or similar expressions, constitute "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995 (the "Reform Act"). All statements which address operating performance,
events or developments that are expected or anticipated to occur in the future,
including statements relating to revenue growth, earnings per share growth or
statements expressing general optimism about future operating results, are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Reform Act. These
forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, speak only of
the date of this press release and are susceptible to a number of risks,
uncertainties and other factors. Our actual results, performance and
achievements may differ materially from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For those
statements, we claim the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking
statements contained in the Reform Act. Many important factors could affect our
future results and could cause those results to differ materially from those
expressed in the forward-looking statements contained herein. Such factors
include, but are not limited to, the following: competition, including product
and pricing pressures; success of operating initiatives; development and
operating costs; advertising and promotional efforts; brand awareness; the
existence or absence of positive or adverse publicity; market acceptance of new
product offerings; new product and concept development by competitors; changing
trends in consumer tastes and preferences (including changes resulting from
health or safety concerns with respect to the consumption of beef) and in
spending and demographic patterns; the business and financial viability of key
franchisees; availability, location and terms of sites for restaurant
development by franchisees; the ability of franchisees to open new restaurants
in accordance with their development commitments, including the ability of
franchisees to finance restaurant development; the ability to identify, attract
and retain potential franchisees with sufficient experience and financial
resources to develop and operate multiple Arby's restaurants; the performance by
material suppliers of their obligations under their supply agreements with
franchisees; changes in business strategy or development plans; quality of the
Company's and franchisees' management; availability, terms and deployment of
capital; business abilities and judgment of the Company's and franchisees'
personnel; availability of qualified personnel to the Company and to
franchisees; labor and employee benefit costs; availability and cost of raw
materials, ingredients and supplies and the potential impact on royalty revenues
and franchisees' restaurant level sales that could arise from interruptions in
the distribution of supplies of food and other products to franchisees; general
economic, business and political conditions in the countries and territories in
which franchisees operate; changes in, or failure to comply with, government
regulations, including franchising laws, accounting standards, environmental
laws and taxation requirements; the costs, uncertainties and other effects of
legal, environmental and administrative proceedings; the impact of general
economic conditions on consumer spending, including a slower consumer economy,
the effects of the events of September 11, 2001 and the effects of war or other
terrorist activities; adverse weather conditions; and other risks and
uncertainties affecting the Company and its subsidiaries detailed in the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30,
2001, and in our other current and periodic filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict
accurately and many of which are beyond our control. We will not undertake and
specifically decline any obligation to publicly release the results of any
revisions which may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events
or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence
of anticipated or unanticipated events. In addition, it is our policy generally
not to make any specific projections as to future earnings, and we do not
endorse any projections regarding future performance that may be made by third
parties.