Wendy's 2008 Annual Report Download - page 10

•our ability, if necessary, to secure alternative distribution of supplies of food, equipment and other
products to Wendy’s and Arby’s restaurants at competitive rates and in adequate amounts, and the
potential financial impact of any interruptions in such distribution;
•changes in commodity costs (including beef and chicken), labor, supply, fuel, utilities, distribution
and other operating costs;
•availability and cost of insurance;
•adverse weather conditions;
•availability, terms (including changes in interest rates) and deployment of capital;
•changes in legal or self-regulatory requirements, including franchising laws, accounting standards,
payment card industry rules, overtime rules, minimum wage rates, government-mandated health
benefits and taxation legislation;
•the costs, uncertainties and other effects of legal, environmental and administrative proceedings;
•the impact of general economic conditions on consumer spending, including a slower consumer
economy particularly in geographic regions that contain a high concentration of Wendy’s or
Arby’s restaurants, and the effects of war or terrorist activities;
•the impact of our continuing investment in series A senior secured notes of Deerfield Capital
Corp. following our 2007 corporate restructuring; and
•other risks and uncertainties affecting us and our subsidiaries referred to in this Form 10-K (see
especially “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations”) and in our other current and periodic filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
All future written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our
behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this
section. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these events
or how they may affect us. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date of
this Form 10-K as a result of new information, future events or developments, except as required by federal
securities laws. In addition, it is our policy generally not to make any specific projections as to future earnings,
and we do not endorse any projections regarding future performance that may be made by third parties.
Item 1. Business.
Introduction
We are the parent company of Wendy’s International, Inc. (“Wendy’s”) and Arby’s Restaurant Group,
Inc. (“ARG”), which are the franchisors of the Wendy’sand Arby’srestaurant systems. As of December 28,
2008, the Wendy’s restaurant system was comprised of 6,630 restaurants, of which 1,406 were owned and
operated by the Company. As of December 28, 2008, the Arby’s restaurant system was comprised of 3,756
restaurants, of which 1,176 were owned and operated by the Company. References in this Form 10-K to
restaurants that we “own” or that are “company-owned” include owned and leased restaurants. Our corporate
predecessor was incorporated in Ohio in 1929. We reincorporated in Delaware in June 1994. Effective
September 29, 2008, in conjunction with the merger with Wendy’s, our corporate name was changed from
Triarc Companies, Inc. (“Triarc”) to Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, Inc. Our principal executive offices are located at
1155 Perimeter Center West, Atlanta, Georgia 30338, and our telephone number is [phone]. We
make our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and
amendments to such reports, as well as our annual proxy statement, available, free of charge, on our website as
soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Our website address is www.wendysarbys.com. Information contained on our website is
not part of this annual report on Form 10-K.
Merger with Wendy’s
On September 29, 2008, Triarc and Wendy’s completed their previously announced merger (the
“Wendy’s Merger”) in an all-stock transaction in which Wendy’s shareholders received 4.25 shares of
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