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Strategies & Market Trends : Speculating in Takeover Targets -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jack Hartmann who wrote (577)	1/7/2005 11:08:03 AM
From: richardred	Respond to of 7253

Jack, from memory,it's been awhile that a big name in the sector has received a bid. I haven't looked at the sector for some time. I sold off my Darden stock last year. I bought on a dead cat bounce. By the looks of it now. I missed out on a lot of the upside. YUM brands doesn't have the parent that it once had. Darden has closed some under performers. Mickey D's took a shot at Boston Market in chapter 11 for some real estate. I don't think that worked out to well. Grand Met. sold Burger King to an investor group I think. Burger King has gained some ground since being private. The group might being thinking about taking it public to cash out. There's alway Mr. Buffett who might Take a look if he see's value long term.

To: Jack Hartmann who wrote (577)	1/9/2005 8:45:12 AM
From: Dale Baker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7253

Do you know who owns Dairy Queen? A better managed company is needed? ;<)

To: Jack Hartmann who wrote (577)	1/12/2005 12:35:18 AM
From: richardred	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7253

Here you go Jack: Real Mex Restaurants, Inc. Acquires Chevys Inc.'s Chevys Fresh Mex Restaurants and Fuzio Universal Pasta Restaurants Tuesday January 11, 7:30 pm ET Seasoned Veteran Charles "Chuck" Rink Appointed President of Chevys Fresh Mex(R) Restaurants LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 2005-- Real Mex Restaurants, Inc., the Long Beach-parent company of El Torito Restaurants and Acapulco Mexican Restaurants, today announced it has formally acquired Chevys Inc.'s Chevys Fresh Mex® Restaurants and Fuzio Universal Pasta®, making it the largest operator of full-service, Mexican restaurants in the country. Real Mex Restaurants also announced it has appointed Charles "Chuck" Rink as president of Chevys Fresh Mex® Restaurants. Rink brings more than 20 years of operations experience, at Visions Restaurants, Inc., Restaurant Enterprises Group and W.R. Grace, in multiple segments of the restaurant industry to his new position. Additionally, Rink will maintain his role as Real Mex Restaurants' chief operating officer, a position he's held since 2002. "This acquisition provides our customers the widest array of Mexican food options in the United States, from the Fresh Mex® experience of Chevys, to the authentic Mexican cuisine of El Torito, and the casual California Mexican cuisine of our Acapulco Mexican Restaurants," said Fred Wolfe, president and CEO of Real Mex Restaurants. "We welcome Chevys and Fuzio into our family of restaurants and are excited to provide new growth and development opportunities for our employees throughout the Real Mex Restaurants organization." Real Mex Restaurants will be retaining 100 percent of the field organization, 31 corporate employees, and maintaining a Chevys' Northern California office while adding 35 new positions in Long Beach. "Real Mex Restaurants is dedicated to the continued growth of the Chevys brand and will continue to work with Chevys employees to service its local communities," said Rink. "Furthermore, the franchise organization will continue to flourish under the leadership of Nicholas Mayer, vice president franchise operations." With the acquisition, Real Mex Restaurants' combined systems sales will exceed half a billion dollars, becoming the largest operator of casual dining Mexican restaurants in the country. "This is an exciting time for our organization as we look forward to continued growth in same store sales in our core El Torito and Acapulco brands, opening 5 to 6 new units in 2005 and bringing Chevys into the Real Mex Restaurants portfolio," said Wolfe. Chevys Inc., which operates 69 company-owned Chevys Fresh Mex® restaurants and 37 franchised restaurants located in 15 states, along with five company-owned Fuzio Universal Pasta® Restaurants and four franchised properties located in Northern California, has been operating as a debtor in possession under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code since October 2003. The acquisition is part of a plan of reorganization, and the properties will continue to operate as Chevys Fresh Mex® Restaurants and Fuzio Universal Pasta® Restaurants under the agreement. About Real Mex Restaurants. Headquartered in Long Beach, Real Mex Restaurants is one of the largest full-service, casual dining Mexican restaurant chain operators in the United States, with 120 restaurants in California and six other states. These include 69 El Torito Restaurants, 39 Acapulco Mexican Restaurants, six El Torito Grill Restaurants and Las Brisas in Laguna Beach, along with several regional restaurant concepts such as Who-Song & Larry's, Casa Gallardo, El Paso Cantina, Keystone Grill and GuadalaHARRY'S. Real Mex Restaurants is committed to the highest standards and is dedicated to serving the freshest Mexican food with excellent service in a clean, comfortable and friendly environment. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.eltorito.com and www.acapulcorestaurants.com. About Chevys, Inc. Based in Emeryville, Calif., Chevys, Inc., is a leading independent Mexican restaurant chain in the U.S., with 106 Chevys Fresh Mex® Restaurants nationwide and 9 Fuzio Universal Pasta® Restaurant concepts. Chevys originated the Fresh Mex® concept in Mexican cooking. Fresh Mex® is a registered trademark of Chevys, Inc. For more information about Chevys' family of restaurants, please visit the company's website at www.chevys.com. Contact: For Real Mex Allison & Partners Megan Dyer, 619-515-5327 megan@allisonpr.com Source: Real Mex Restaurants, Inc. biz.yahoo.com

To: Jack Hartmann who wrote (577)	1/28/2006 2:50:10 AM
From: richardred	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7253

Jack no takeover needed here! Message 20925569 Holy Burrito, Chipotle! By Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMFBreakerRick) January 27, 2006 There's gold in them there carnitas! The eagerly anticipated Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) IPO went over about as well as a cash-filled pinata, opening at $45 yesterday after being priced at just $22 a stub. It closed out the day at $44 -- a perfect double for those who were allocated the original shares. The deal was a success for parent company McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), even though it has every right to take the investment banker to task for pricing the offering so low that Mickey D's -- and Chipotle -- left a little money on the table. Sure, McDonald's remains the majority shareholder and will benefit from the buoyant share price, but this was still an offering that could have raised $180 million more for both parties, had it been priced closer to the retail investor demand that was manifested yesterday. Chipotle is a fast-growing chain of 489 fast-yet-fresh Mexican food restaurants. McDonald's also owns Boston Market, but that company's publicly traded allure is tainted by its previous stint as floundering stock Boston Chicken. The first-day surge valued Chipotle at more than $1.4 billion. That's a bit rich. Yes, Chipotle is profitable and growing quickly -- adding nearly 20% more stores to its base this year -- but what does this say for the intrinsic value of other chains like Wendy's (NYSE: WEN) Baja Fresh or CKE Restaurants' (NYSE: CKR) La Salsa? Yes, Chipotle is expanding swiftly. Sales grew by 33% through the first nine months of 2005. Profits are growing even faster, though that's coming off depressed levels during which time Chipotle was working on operating margins below the restaurant industry average. Profit growth is likely to be more in check from now on. That doesn't mean that an investor should wait until the stock dips back to the original $22 offering price to scoop up Chipotle at a market value that would be the equivalent of last year's sales. That's not likely to happen anytime soon. However, it's unlikely that the stock will double from these levels over the next year. Expect a little stability in the coming weeks as investors come to grips with Chipotle as a more guarded growth vehicle. Once the stock has settled, perhaps a few bucks lower than where it is today -- but not a whole lot lower -- that's when a rational investor should consider going in for the first nibble. Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is partial to Baja Fresh but may yet consider buying Chipotle -- when the price is right. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. The Fool has a disclosure policy. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. Imagine the World 10 Years from Now fool.com