Mediocre Marriage
The New York Times reported today that IHOP is buying Applebee’s for $1.6 billion plus debt for a value of $2.1 billion. Normally the buyer’s shares drop a bit on the news of the acquisition, but IHOP shares rose 12%. Applebee’s shares rose 2%. I’m not sure why I set out all the financial stuff.
According to the article, IHOPs are mostly franchised and it plans to franchise all of the remaining 500 poorly performing Applebees company operated stores. Just what a potential buyer wants to hear, “give us a bunch of money to take over a dog of a restaurant and you too could have a location that serves lunch and dinner that is as pedestrian and boring as what we serve for breakfast and 3:00 a.m. sobering up sessions. As an extra incentive, we’ll give you the recipe for the stuff we serve in a Rooty Tooty plate.”
Now that I’m on to the new trend, can these betrothals be far behind? TGIF and either Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts. Denny’s will court the losing donut chain. Boston Market could be a dark horse in the surge to merge bad food choices, available 24/7.
3 comments:
What a snore of a deal: Two food conglomerates--neither of which I've been two in over a decade--decide to merge. Ooh...pinch me. If I wasn't so bored, I'd go to Applebees.
Let's not forget the pending merger of Wurlitzer and Xerox. I hear they'll be making reproductive organs. (Rim shot) Thank you thank you. I'll be here all week.
Budum, cha! (An attempt at sound fx). :)
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