Cheesecake Factory Jumps on News of Peltz Stake

Activist investor Nelson Peltz has acquired a more-than 10% stake in Cheesecake Factory Inc. (CAKE), Bloomberg reported Wednesday. A person with knowledge of the situation said Trian Star Trust, which is affiliated with Peltz's Trian Fund Management LP, may still add to its stake. In a regulatory filing Wednesday, Cheesecake Factory said, "We have had a preliminary conversation with Trian already, and look forward to continuing this dialogue." The fund today received FTC approval to take the stake.

Peltz, who controls Arby's parent Triarc (TRY), has pushed for changes at several food and restaurant companies in recent years, including Heinz (HNZ), Wendy's (WEN) and Kraft (KFT). Triarc has offered to buy Wendy's, the number-three U.S. burger chain. Shares of Cheesecake Factory were down 12% through yesterday; they are up 11% to $24.61 in intraday trading. "We would buyers of Outperform-rated CAKE on news that Nelson Peltz's investment arm (Trian Star Trust) has just received approval to acquire a stake in CAKE," Cowen said in a note to investors Wednesday.

Sources: FTC approval (.pdf), Bloomberg, Reuters
Additional Reading: Nelson Peltz - Wikipedia • Wednesday's Options Report: CAKE...

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