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Non-Tech : Boston Market (BOSTQ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IN_GOD_I_TRUST who wrote (1184)	5/1/1998 3:49:00 PM
From: rtalley55	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1567

FOCUS-Boston Chicken replaces top officers May 1, 1998 03:01 PM By Jeff Mamera NEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - Boston Chicken Inc. surprised Wall Street on Friday by saying its top three officials had resigned to make way for a veteran industry executive that it hopes will turn around the fortunes of the once high-flying but now floundering restaurant chain. Colorado-based Boston Chicken -- whose stock was a Wall Street darling when it went public in 1993 at about $20, but now changes hands for just under $5 a share -- said 51-year-old J. Michael Jenkins would become chairman, chief executive and president of the company, effective immediately. Jenkins was formerly chief executive of Denver-based Vicorp Inc., the owner of Village Inn and Baker Square restaurants, and has vast experience with the casual-dining restaurant model, Boston Chicken said. Late Thursday, co-chairman and chief executive Saad Nadhir and co-chairman and president Scott Beck resigned, although both will remain consultants to the company during the management transition, the company said. Chief financial officer and vice-chairman Mark Stephens also left his post. "Both Saad and Scott believed that at this time in the company's life cycle Jenkins is really what the company needs during this transition," said Karen Rugen, a Boston Chicken spokeswoman. The management shake-up comes amid a restructuring by Boston Chicken, which seeks to make all its now-named Boston Market stores company-owned. Boston Chicken in February reported a fourth-quarter loss of $273.5 million, or $3.83 a share, because of massive charges associated with the restructuring. The company said at the time it would also likely lose money in 1998 because of the costs. Rugen said Jenkins would continue several Boston Chicken strategies already in place, including the one to make all stores company-owned. "We still are proceeding as planned with becoming a company-owned system," said Rugen. "And we still are proceedingwith the expanded concept tests that we're doing now in Charlotte, North Carolina." The tests add expanded offerings to the company's restaurants, such as a grill, more desserts and a fresh-tossed salad station, Rugen said. The company hopes to expand the tests to between three and five more markets in the second half of the year, she said. Many analysts said the management shake-ups at Boston Chicken took them by surprise. Howard Penney, an analyst at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, said it was far too early to judge whether this was a positive move. Others, including Piper Jaffrey's Allan Hickok, agreed, saying the company still needed to do many things, like shut underperforming stores and renegotiate store rents with landlords. Some analysts, however, were more optimistic. "It's probably a good move," said Mitch Speiser, an analyst at Lehman Brothers. "The company has gone south for two years." Apparently, the stock market was optimistic, too. Boston Chicken shares were up 26/32 at 5-3/32 in afternoon Nasdaq trading of more than 2.8 million shares. The company is betting that Jenkins will be motivated by the stock options he was granted. "With a million shares of options, he (Jenkins) is heavily incentivized to enhance the value of the company," said Boston Chicken's Rugen. "He has never put a company in bankruptcy and in fact was hired here with a track record of putting companies back into profitability." The company granted Jenkins 500,000 options for one million shares of Boston Chicken stock, as well as $5 million in cash over three years, depending on the company's performance, according to Rugen. ((--Wall Street desk, 212-859-1730)) REUTERS