NEW YORK In an effort to focus solely on its 3,600-unit-plus Arby’s system, Triarc Companies Inc. agreed to sell its investment advisory firm, Deerfield & Company LLC, in a cash and stock transaction valued at about $290 million, the company said Friday.
Deerfield’s buyer is Deerfield Triarc Capital Corp., a financial services company that is managed by a subsidiary of Deerfield & Co.
Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz had served as chairman to both Triarc and Deerfield Triarc Capital, but stepped down from the latter role prior to the “consideration” of the deal, the company said in a statement, “reflecting the fact that he did not play a role in negotiating the transaction.”
After the sale is closed, which is expected to be in the third quarter of this year, Deerfield Triarc Capital will discontinue the use of Triarc in its name, although Triarc will continue to hold a 10-percent stake in the financial services firm.
“We are excited about the evolution of Triarc into a publicly traded restaurant company,” Peltz said in a statement. “We believe that Arby’s will be able to significantly increase value through both organic growth and the acquisition of other restaurant companies.”
Triarc first purchased a majority stake of Chicago-based Deerfield & Company in June 2004. The investment firm’s asset under management total about $13.2 billion. The sale is still subject to typical closing conditions, including financing commitments and shareholder approval.