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https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/05/16/whataburger-confirms-hiring-morgan-stanley-to.html

 

Whataburger has hired multinational investment bank and financial services company Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to help explore a possible sale, the company confirmed May 16.

In a written statement, Whataburger's corporate communications team told the San Antonio Business Journal: “Our company is growing and is always attractive to investors, and we’ve brought in Morgan Stanley to help us explore our options. We have always evaluated the opportunities that can accelerate growth and maintain the success of our brand, and we will continue to do so in the future.”

Word of a possible sale was reported May 6 by Reuters, which cited anonymous sources. Those sources told Reuters that the San Antonio-based fast food chain was considering a sale, including a minority stake sale to a financial investor or private equity firm. One of the sources told Reuters that the chain could garner a valuation of more than $6 billion.

Trade publication QSR reported that Whataburger had sales of more than $2.2 billion in 2017, ranking it 22nd in the magazine's 50 largest limited-service restaurants based on sales, above such prominent burger chains as Hardee's, Carl's Jr. and Five Guys. The company operates 827 locations across 10 states, according to its website, a majority of which are in Texas. The chain has dozens of locations in the greater Houston area.

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  • Brisketexan
    Brisketexan

    It seems there are multiple options for this sale: different percentages available, including or not including some real estate, etc. You can tell, because each prospectus has multiple colored st

  • HEB would never buy a franchise with such predictable, ubiquitous hours of operation. 

Whoever buys it better not change one damn thing about it.

Except maybe speed up the drive through, without changing the actual product.

  • Popular Post

It seems there are multiple options for this sale: different percentages available, including or not including some real estate, etc.

You can tell, because each prospectus has multiple colored stickers on the cover telling you what's included in the deal.

Why are they doing it, though? Cashing out for personal reasons or cash infusion to expand to new regions?

  • Popular Post
18 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Maybe HEB will buy it.  

HEB would never buy a franchise with such predictable, ubiquitous hours of operation. 

7 minutes ago, ztejas said:

HEB would never buy a franchise with such predictable, ubiquitous hours of operation. 

Hell, they would never be open....

36 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

Why are they doing it, though? Cashing out for personal reasons or cash infusion to expand to new regions?

i think family stuff. pretty sure there are 3 siblings with only 1 involved in the day to day business but I could be wrong. 

18 minutes ago, Errestaurants said:

i think family stuff. pretty sure there are 3 siblings with only 1 involved in the day to day business but I could be wrong. 

Yeah, that makes complete sense.  The silent members like their income and don't want to sacrifice it to expansion.  Or all of them want to "finance" expansion.

How much do we have in the wreath fund?

13 minutes ago, Deej said:

How much do we have in the wreath fund?

about tree fiddy

Edited by Errestaurants

1 hour ago, Errestaurants said:

i think family stuff. pretty sure there are 3 siblings with only 1 involved in the day to day business but I could be wrong. 

I think that is correct?    He might have been the one who made the decision to move corporate from Corpus to San Antonio.    At least he was the public face when all of that went down around here.   

I understood that much of the real estate was NNN partnerships owned by family or other insiders.

interesting.  this could value whataburger at much higher than $6B.  

52 minutes ago, Brothahorn said:

I got $5 on it. As long as I can get a fried egg on my burger all day.

Posted that before I read this, but high five.

4 hours ago, Huckleberry said:

Why are they doing it, though? Cashing out for personal reasons or cash infusion to expand to new regions?

I wish they would expand to my region.  

5 hours ago, Hawndoh said:

Whoever buys it better not change one damn thing about it.

Except maybe speed up the drive through, without changing the actual product.

Stock up on dem burgers now boyz, cuz there’s no possible way they don’t fuck it up completely 

I'm talking to investors about bringing corporate up to Minnesota.

Thanks texas...but we'll take over from here

8 hours ago, Doc Reeves said:

Stock up on dem burgers now boyz, cuz there’s no possible way they don’t fuck it up completely 

why, are they run by aggies?

1 hour ago, Viper said:

why, are they run by aggies?

I had the president's daughter in class a few years back.  She started out at aggy, but transferred because "everyone was too rah-rah there."

If they wanted to finance expansion, a credit facility would make more sense than giving up so much equity.  Plus banks tend to not fuck with your recipes like activist investors do.  

As a fan of their food, this does not end well.  

Seems like I have heard this story before. Kids inherited a cash cow, but not as much cash as they want. Sell the cow and cash out. 

I can't remember a version that ends well. 

2 minutes ago, Lobo said:

If they wanted to finance expansion, a credit facility would make more sense than giving up so much equity.  Plus banks tend to not fuck with your recipes like activist investors do.  

As a fan of their food, this does not end well.  

That's what I was thinking as well.  I'd hate to see a bunch of bean counters in NYC get involved in what has worked with this company for decades just because a commodity goes up and instead of raising the price( which most of us who frequent Whataburger  accept) , they shrink the product or take shortcuts.  See Mc D's and the crap they went through for years  when the bean counters where ignoring the franchise owners with some of their idiocy.    

At the end this is probably not going to be a full attempt at going public.  Something will be setup where the family retains a majority of the stock or construct it where they have a greater share of voting power in a  special class of stock.

And nothing fucks up an IPO faster than the family "owners" get a carve out for special B-shares that allow them to control "supply and operational integrity."  Basically telling anyone who questions their G&A to "fuck off."  they'll think that the public (both diners and stock buyers) will like that they preserve the integrity of the brand and quality control, but in the end---it's a fucking lose-lose.  

1 minute ago, Lobo said:

And nothing fucks up an IPO faster than the family "owners" get a carve out for special B-shares that allow them to control "supply and operational integrity."  Basically telling anyone who questions their G&A to "fuck off."  they'll think that the public (both diners and stock buyers) will like that they preserve the integrity of the brand and quality control, but in the end---it's a fucking lose-lose.  

See Snapchat for further details 

46 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

I had the president's daughter in class a few years back.  She started out at aggy, but transferred because "everyone was too rah-rah there."

The Dobson family has given a good chunk of change to the UH Hilton school.

If somebody will bring back the old guy who used to do the voiceovers on their commercials, I'm down.

Wasn't Jessica Simpson wanting to get a franchise? I'd eat her burger.

5 minutes ago, TrashMaster G said:

If somebody will bring back the old guy who used to do the voiceovers on their commercials, I'm down.

I hated his fake accent and fake cornball.  Some Yankee marketing sissy in NYC wrote the ad copy based on stereotypes.

1 hour ago, Nueces River Rat said:

That's what I was thinking as well.  I'd hate to see a bunch of bean counters in NYC get involved  

They'll become soybean counters!

2 hours ago, Lobo said:

If they wanted to finance expansion, a credit facility would make more sense than giving up so much equity.  Plus banks tend to not fuck with your recipes like activist investors do.  

As a fan of their food, this does not end well.  

I think it's more about cashing in on some valuation than financing expansion but I could be wrong. 

Gotta pay for them heated pools and condos in Vail. 

4 hours ago, Nueces River Rat said:

That's what I was thinking as well.  I'd hate to see a bunch of bean counters in NYC get involved in what has worked with this company for decades just because a commodity goes up and instead of raising the price( which most of us who frequent Whataburger  accept) , they shrink the product or take shortcuts.  See Mc D's and the crap they went through for years  when the bean counters where ignoring the franchise owners with some of their idiocy.    

 

Agreed.

 

Although when I read bean counter I immediately thought of how amazing a double Whataburger with cheese, refried beans, Fritos, and jalapenos would be.

 

 

Yes, I am fat.

Yum brands.  Chicken, Pizza, and Tacos.  All they are missing is a burger store. 

26 minutes ago, Grade of D as in David said:

Agreed.

 

Although when I read bean counter I immediately thought of how amazing a double Whataburger with cheese, refried beans, Fritos, and jalapenos would be.

 

 

Yes, I am fat.

Rep points awarded!  

5 hours ago, Nueces River Rat said:

That's what I was thinking as well.  I'd hate to see a bunch of bean counters in NYC get involved in what has worked with this company for decades just because a commodity goes up and instead of raising the price( which most of us who frequent Whataburger  accept) , they shrink the product or take shortcuts.  See Mc D's and the crap they went through for years  when the bean counters where ignoring the franchise owners with some of their idiocy.    

Sonic is damn near uneatable now because of this.

3 minutes ago, SuingToGetAMessageBoard? said:

uneatable

I'm going to start saying this in public and see what reactions I get. 

Just now, ztejas said:

I'm going to start saying this in public and see what reactions I get. 

I'm not super 'tarded, just regular tarded.  I wrote it, realized it was dumb and went to change it, then realized inedible didn't quite have the same oomph.

I don't know, I think uneatable may be the correct term there. Inedible implies that it literally can't be consumed by eating (like if their burgers were made out of iron). Uneatable says they can't be eaten because they taste like shit. Inedible can also be used in the latter situation but it leaves open the possibility of the former. Uneatable generally only means you can't eat it because it sucks.

Deep thoughts.

47 minutes ago, SuingToGetAMessageBoard? said:

Sonic is damn near uneatable now because of this.

They still have good ice cream and drinks with ice all the way to the lid.  They have to make a nice handsome profit on soft drinks when you get 30 oz of ice and 2oz of drink.

They screwed up their coney chili cheese dog.   And they used to serve a burrito with chili and cheese poured on top which was my go to food back in my college days.  That's probably been gone for awhile.

2 hours ago, Grade of D as in David said:

Agreed.

Although when I read bean counter I immediately thought of how amazing a double Whataburger with cheese, refried beans, Fritos, and jalapenos would be.

Yes, I am fat.

This man knows what he wants and no one is standing in his way. Bravo sir...

...bravo.

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