Nelson Peltz is reportedly planning an offer for Wendy’s

Nelson Peltz is reportedly planning an offer for Wendy’s

Wed, August 12, 2026 at 7:42 PM GMT+3 2 min read

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Nelson Peltz is apparently planning a bid for the restaurant chain in which he has long had a major role, Wendy's, and he may be getting some interesting help in the form of mega-franchisee Greg Flynn.

That, at least, is according to a report on Wednesday from Financial Times, which reported that Peltz's Trian Fund Management is working with a group of investors, including the Abu Dhabi-based BlueFive Capital and Flynn Group. Flynn is a major Wendy's operator, along with other chains including Pizza Hut, 7 Brew, Applebee's, Panera Bread, Taco Bell, and Arby's, as well as the fitness concept Planet Fitness.

The news sent Wendy's stock soaring 14%.

"The Wendy's Company would thoroughly review any proposal submitted by Trian, consistent with its fiduciary duties," Wendy's said in a statement. "The board, together with the management team, regularly reviews the company's strategic priorities and opportunities with the goal of maximizing value for all shareholders. We are moving with urgency under bob Wright's leadership as our new CEO, and we have identified core strategic areas of focus to improve performance and turn around the business."

Peltz has been involved in Wendy's in some capacity since 2005. His Triarc Companies, which owned Arby's, bought the chain in 2008, then spun Arby's off to Roark Capital three years later. Peltz was on the board for 16 years and spent most of that time as its chairman before stepping down in 2024.

He remains Wendy's largest shareholder, and has multiple times toyed with the idea of taking the chain private. Peltz in February began planning to make a bid for Wendy's, calling the company undervalued.

He would be buying Wendy's at a low point in its valuation. Even with Wednesday's price spike, the company's share price is down 64% over the past five years and 16% over the past year.

Wendy's has struggled for the past year and a half with store closures, falling sales and replacements of its CEO. Same-store sales have fallen for each of the past six quarters, and they've fallen at least 7% in each of the past three. Traffic in the second quarter declined 12.5%.

The company earlier this year brought in Wright, a former longtime executive with the chain who spent time as CEO of Potbelly, to helm the chain and engineer its turnround. Wright last week lamented the brand's "quality degradation."