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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 SCHEDULE 13D/A Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. 1)* Applebees International, Inc.
(Name of Issuer) Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share
(Title of Class of Securities) 0000853665
(CUSIP Number) Norman J. Harrison Breeden Capital Management LLC 100 Northfield Street Greenwich, Connecticut 06830 (203) 618-0065
(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person December 11, 2006
(Date of Event which Requires Filing of this Statement) If the filing person has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to report the acquisition that is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this schedule because of §§240.13d -1(e), 240.13d -1(f) or 240.13d -1(g), check the following box. o Note: Schedules filed in paper format shall include a signed original and five copies of the schedule, including all exhibits. See §240.13d -7 for other parties to whom copies are to be sent. * The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting persons initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter disclosures provided in a prior cover page. The information required on the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be filed for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Act) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes).
1
Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications)
CUSIP No. 0000853665 |
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NAME OF REPORTING PERSON S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON
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CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) o (b) X
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SEC USE ONLY | |
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SOURCE OF FUNDS* AF | |
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CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO ITEMS 2(d) or 2(e) o
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CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Delaware | |
NUMBER OF SHARES |
7 |
SOLE VOTING POWER 0
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BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY |
8 |
SHARED VOTING POWER 3,900,000 |
PERSON |
9 |
SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 0 |
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10 |
SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 3,900,000
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11 |
AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 3,900,000 |
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CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES* o
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13 |
PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11) 5.25% |
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TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON* OO |
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CUSIP No. 0000853665 |
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1 |
NAME OF REPORTING PERSON S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON
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2 |
CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) o (b) X
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3 |
SEC USE ONLY | |
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SOURCE OF FUNDS* AF | |
5 |
CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO ITEMS 2(d) or 2(e) o
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6 |
CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Delaware | |
NUMBER OF SHARES |
7 |
SOLE VOTING POWER 0
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BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY |
8 |
SHARED VOTING POWER 2,453,648 |
PERSON |
9 |
SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 0 |
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10 |
SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 2,453,648
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AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 2,453,648 |
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CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES* o
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13 |
PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11) 3.31% |
14 |
TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON* OO |
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CUSIP No. 0000853665 |
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NAME OF REPORTING PERSON S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON
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2 |
CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) o (b) X
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3 |
SEC USE ONLY | |
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SOURCE OF FUNDS* AF | |
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CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO ITEMS 2(d) or 2(e) o
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CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Delaware | |
NUMBER OF SHARES |
7 |
SOLE VOTING POWER 0
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BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY |
8 |
SHARED VOTING POWER 26,307 |
PERSON |
9 |
SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 0 |
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10 |
SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 26,307
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AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 26,307 |
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CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES* o
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13 |
PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11) 0.04% |
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TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON* OO |
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CUSIP No. 0000853665 |
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NAME OF REPORTING PERSON S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON
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CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) o (b) X
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SEC USE ONLY |
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SOURCE OF FUNDS* AF |
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CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO ITEMS 2(d) or 2(e) o
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CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Cayman Islands |
NUMBER OF |
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SOLE VOTING POWER 0
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BENEFICIALLY |
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SHARED VOTING POWER 1,420,045 |
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PERSON |
9 |
SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 0 |
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10 |
SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 1,420,045
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11 |
AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 1,420,045 |
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CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES* o
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13 |
PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11) 1.91% |
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TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON* OO |
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CUSIP No. 0000853665 |
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NAME OF REPORTING PERSON S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON
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2 |
CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) o (b) X
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SEC USE ONLY | |
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SOURCE OF FUNDS* AF | |
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CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO ITEMS 2(d) or 2(e) o
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CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION United States | |
NUMBER OF SHARES |
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SOLE VOTING POWER 0
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BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY |
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SHARED VOTING POWER 3,900,000 |
PERSON |
9 |
SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 0 |
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SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 3,900,000
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AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 3,900,000 |
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CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES* o
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PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11) 5.25% |
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TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON* IN |
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This Amendment No. 1 (this Amendment) relates to the Schedule 13D filed by Breeden Capital Management LLC (Breeden Capital) and Richard C. Breeden (together with, Breeden Partners (California) L.P., Breeden Partners L.P. and Breeden Partners Holdco Ltd., the Reporting Persons) with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 29, 2006 (the Schedule 13D), relating to the common stock, par value $.01 per share (Common Stock), of Applebees International, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the Company). Terms defined in the Schedule 13D are used herein with the same meaning.
Items 4, 5 and 7 of the Schedule 13D are hereby amended and supplemented to add the following:
Item 4. Purpose of Transaction.
On December 11, 2006, Breeden Partners L.P. delivered a letter to the Company, in compliance with the advance notice requirement in the Companys bylaws and pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law, informing the Company of its proposal to nominate four candidates for election to the Board of Directors of the Company (the Board) at the Companys 2007 annual meeting of shareholders (the Annual Meeting). The nominees are: Richard C. Breeden, Laurence E. Harris, Steven J. Quamme and Raymond G.H. Seitz (the Nominees). A copy of the press release issued on December 11, 2006, which contains the text of a letter to the Companys Board of Directors with respect to the reasons for the Reporting Persons decision to make these nominations, is attached hereto as Exhibit B and is incorporated by reference.
On December 11th, 2006, Breeden Partners L.P. delivered a demand to the Company, pursuant to Delaware General Corporation Law, to inspect the shareholder list and related records of the Company.
Item 5. Interest in the Securities of the Issuer.
The responses of the Reporting Persons to Rows (7) through (13) on the cover pages of this Schedule 13D are incorporated herein by reference to reflect the update in percentage ownership based on the 74,239,024 shares of Common Stock stated by the Company to be outstanding as of October 23, 2006 in the Companys Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 25, 2006.
Item 7. Material to be Filed as Exhibits.
Exhibit A |
Amended and Restated Joint Filing Agreement |
Exhibit B |
Press release, issued by Breeden Capital Management LLC, on December 11, 2006 |
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SIGNATURE
After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, I certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.
December 11, 2006
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BREEDEN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC | |
By: /s/ Richard C. Breeden | |
Richard C. Breeden | |
Managing Member | |
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BREEDEN PARTNERS L.P. |
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By: Breeden Capital Partners LLC, its general partner |
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By: /s/ Richard C. Breeden |
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Richard C. Breeden |
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Managing Member |
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BREEDEN PARTNERS (CALIFORNIA) L.P. |
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By: Breeden Capital Partners LLC, its general partner |
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By: /s/ Richard C. Breeden |
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Richard C. Breeden |
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Managing Member |
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BREEDEN PARTNERS HOLDCO LTD. |
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By: /s/ Richard C. Breeden |
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Richard C. Breeden |
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Director |
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BREEDEN PARTNERS (CAYMAN) LTD. | |
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By: /s/ Richard C. Breeden |
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Richard C. Breeden |
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Director |
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/s/ Richard C. Breeden |
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Richard C. Breeden |
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EXHIBIT A
AMENDED AND RESTATED JOINT FILING AGREEMENT
In accordance with Rule 13d-1(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the undersigned agree to the joint filing on behalf of each of them of a Statement on Schedule 13D (including any and all amendments thereto) with respect to the common stock of Applebee's International, Inc. and further agree that this Amended and Restated Joint Filing Agreement shall be included as an Exhibit to such joint filing.
The undersigned further agrees that each party hereto is responsible for timely filing of such statement on Schedule 13D and any amendments thereto, and for the completeness and accuracy of the information concerning such party contained therein, provided that no party is responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the information concerning the other party, unless such party knows or has reason to believe that such information is inaccurate.
This Amended and Restated Joint Filing Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original instrument, but all of such counterparts together shall constitute but one agreement.
In evidence thereof the undersigned, being duly authorized, hereby execute this Amended and Restated Joint Filing Agreement this 11th day of December 2006.
BREEDEN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC | |
By: /s/ Richard C. Breeden | |
Richard C. Breeden | |
Managing Member | |
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BREEDEN PARTNERS L.P. |
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By: Breeden Capital Partners LLC, its general partner |
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By: /s/ Richard C. Breeden |
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Richard C. Breeden |
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Managing Member |
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BREEDEN PARTNERS (CALIFORNIA) L.P. |
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By: Breeden Capital Partners LLC, its general partner |
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By: Breeden Capital Partners LLC, its general partner |
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By: /s/ Richard C. Breeden |
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Richard C. Breeden |
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Managing Member |
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BREEDEN PARTNERS HOLDCO LTD. |
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By: /s/ Richard C. Breeden |
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Richard C. Breeden |
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Director |
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BREEDEN PARTNERS (CAYMAN) LTD. |
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By: /s/ Richard C. Breeden |
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Richard C. Breeden |
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Director |
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/s/ Richard C. Breeden |
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Richard C. Breeden |
EXHIBIT B
Contacts:
For Media: |
For Investors: |
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Kekst and Company |
Morrow & Co. |
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Victoria Weld |
Eric Olson/Mike Verrechia | ||
212-521-4800 |
203-658-9400 |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Breeden Capital Management LLC Announces Nomination of Director Slate for
Applebees International, Inc.
--Action Necessary Due to Boards Disregard of Shareholder Interests and Companys Long Term Underperformance--
Greenwich, CT., December 11, 2006. Breeden Capital Management LLC, a Greenwich, CT., based investment fund manager, announced today that Breeden Partners LP has nominated a slate of four candidates for election to the Board of Directors of Applebees International, Inc. (Applebees) (NASDAQ: APPB) at the companys 2007 annual meeting. Applebees current board of directors consists of 12 members, only 4 of whom will be elected in 2007 due to Applebees staggered board. Breeden Partners and affiliated domestic and off-shore investment funds managed by Breeden Capital Management (all collectively, Breeden Partners) own 3.9 million shares of Applebees. Breeden Partners is today amending its Schedule 13D filed with the SEC.
The Breeden Partners Director Slate for Applebees
The Breeden Partners slate consists of Messrs. Richard C. Breeden, Steven J. Quamme, Raymond G. H. Seitz and Laurence E. Harris.
Mr. Breeden is Chairman and CEO of Breeden Capital Management and serves as Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Breeden Partners. He is a former Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and former Corporate Monitor of WorldCom, Inc. Mr. Breeden currently serves on the board of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A., of Spain (NYSE: BBV). He has served on a number of other corporate boards and is a nationally recognized expert in corporate governance practices.
Mr. Quamme is one of the founding partners of Breeden Partners. He is also the former co-CEO of Milestone Merchant Partners, a merchant banking firm, and has extensive experience in the restaurant and retail industries. He has previously been a major franchisee of Blockbuster Video, Boston Chicken and Einstein Bros. Bagels, among others.
Mr. Seitz is a former Vice Chairman of Lehman Brothers (Europe) and is a former United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom as well as a former Assistant
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Secretary of State. He currently serves on the boards of the Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) and Hong Kong-based PCCW, Limited (NYSE: PCW). He is the current non-executive chairman of the Sun-Times Media Group, Inc. (NYSE: SVN). Mr. Seitz has previously served on many other boards of directors, including British Airways PLC.
Mr. Harris is of counsel to the Washington law firm Patton Boggs LLP. He is a director and chairman of the audit committee of Sports Brands International, Inc. and also currently serves on the board of Inphonic Inc (NASDAQ: INPC). He was a director of MCI, Inc., following its emergence from bankruptcy in 2004 and until its merger with Verizon Communications, Inc.
Applebees Severe Performance Problems
Mr. Breeden noted in a letter to the Applebees directors, a copy of which is attached, that, over the three years ended December 1, 2006, Applebees total return to shareholders was 13th worst out of 14 comparable companies. During this time, Applebees total return was a NEGATIVE 13.4%, costing shareholders hundreds of millions of dollars in lost value. By contrast, competitors like Darden Restaurants (operator of Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurants) and California Pizza Kitchen had total returns to shareholders in the same time frame of 99% and 71%, respectively.
For the last three years, Applebees has suffered from high corporate overhead costs, while important operating metrics such as same store sales and profit margins have declined. Its share price performance has been a disaster for shareholders, and the current board of directors has failed to develop a strategy to solve the problems, said Mr. Breeden.
One example of the lack of disciplined financial policies at Applebees relates to capital expenditures. Over the last three years, the board approved spending hundreds of millions in shareholder capital to build new company-owned restaurants even though Applebees enjoys a wonderful network of efficient franchisees who could have opened similar facilities with limited capital expenditures by Applebees. The company earns a vastly higher return on capital from franchise operations than the returns Applebees seems to be generating on the capital to buy land and construct new company-owned restaurants. The failure of the board to consider returns on invested capital in a systematic fashion is inexcusable, and it shows why change in the membership of the board is necessary to create a more valuable company in the future, said Mr. Breeden.
Applebees Bylaws Force Action Now
Shortly after Breeden Partners informed Applebees management last summer that it had accumulated a large ownership position and intended to be a long-term holder at Applebees, the Applebees board changed its bylaws to require that nominations be made months earlier than under prior requirements. If Breeden Partners had not nominated candidates by this week, the new Applebees bylaws would have prevented
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shareholders from having the opportunity to consider voting for alternative directors until May of 2008.
I had hoped to have more time to determine whether Applebees board would take significant action to benefit the shareholders, explained Breeden. In most other companies, the decision on whether to nominate candidates would have come much closer to the annual meeting date. But the anti-shareholder bylaw amendment adopted by the Applebees board forced us to make a choice of acting now or waiting until 2008. Waiting that long would be just too big a gamble on a board that historically has ignored its shareholders and may continue to do so, said Mr. Breeden.
Greater Choice for Shareholders
The Breeden Partners slate of candidates for the Applebees board will give the companys shareholders a real choice. Shareholders will have the opportunity to broaden the membership of the current board with new members with a different base of experience and expertise than the incumbent directors. Alternatively, if shareholders are satisfied with the status quo, they can vote to reelect the four incumbent candidates, including the companys former CEO who continues to serve as Chairman. Breeden Partners believes that this greater choice in selecting directors will benefit all shareholders.
Governance Issues as Well as Performance Problems
As major shareholders of Applebees, the principal concerns of Breeden Partners are the companys failed policies that have severely undercut its share price and aggregate value. However, Breeden Partners believes that a variety of poor governance practices have also contributed to a lack of accountability for performance and other weaknesses that should be corrected. For example, Breeden Partners believes that Applebees should eliminate its staggered board and replace this system that harms shareholder interests with majority voting for all members of the board on an annual basis. During the course of the election process, Breeden Partners will make additional suggestions on how to eliminate governance practices at Applebees that damage shareholder interests.
About Breeden Partners, LP
Breeden Partners is a private investment partnership that was formed for purposes of investing in companies that are underperforming in terms of earnings and share price. Breeden Partners invests solely in the equity securities of publicly traded companies headquartered in the United States or Canada, and it does not use either leverage or derivatives. Breeden Partners governing policies also prohibit it from taking a majority equity interest in any portfolio company.
Breeden Partners seeks to invest in companies with strong cash flows and underlying asset values where it can be a catalyst for change that will enhance market
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value. Breeden Partners seeks to maximize returns by persuading portfolio companies to adopt new strategies to increase earnings and rates of return, improve capital allocation, strengthen accountability for performance, enhance transparency and adopt healthier governance practices, among other things. Breeden Partners believes that implementing improved management and governance practices will help portfolio companies achieve higher earnings and command a higher multiple on such earnings in the marketplace.
About Breeden Capital Management LLC
Breeden Capital Management is based in Greenwich, Connecticut. Both Breeden Partners and Breeden Capital Management were founded by Richard C. Breeden, former Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm has a total of approximately 20 professionals, and, together with its affiliates, it has more than $1 billion in assets under management. Other senior full time professionals in the firm include Steven J. Quamme, James M. Cotter and Robert H. Fields.
EXCEPT FOR THE HISTORICAL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN, THE MATTERS ADDRESSED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE ARE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS THAT INVOLVE CERTAIN RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES. YOU SHOULD BE AWARE THAT ACTUAL RESULTS COULD DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE CONTAINED IN THE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. BREEDEN PARTNERS ASSUMES NO OBLIGATION TO UPDATE THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION.
SECURITY HOLDERS ARE ADVISED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE SOLICITATION OF PROXIES, BY BREEDEN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, BREEDEN PARTNERS L.P., BREEDEN PARTNERS (CALIFORNIA) L.P., BREEDEN PARTNERS HOLDCO LTD., RICHARD C. BREEDEN, LAURENCE E. HARRIS, STEVEN J. QUAMME, RAYMOND G.H. SEITZ AND CERTAIN OF THEIR AFFILIATES, FROM THE SHAREHOLDERS OF APPLEBEES FOR USE AT THE 2007 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS OF APPLEBEES WHEN THEY ARE AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. A DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND FORM OF PROXY WILL BE MAILED TO SHAREHOLDERS OF APPLEBEES AND WILL, ALONG WITH OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS, BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE AT THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONS WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV OR BY CONTACTING MORROW & CO., INC. BY TELEPHONE AT (203) 658-9400 OR BY EMAIL AT APPLEBEESINFO@MORROWCO.COM. INFORMATION RELATING TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN SUCH PROXY SOLICITATION IS CONTAINED IN THE SCHEDULE 14A FILED ON THE DATE HEREOF AND AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE AT THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONS WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV.
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Attachment:
Board Letter
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December 11, 2006 |
Board of Directors
Applebees International, Inc.
4551 W. 107th Street
Overland Park, Kansas 66207
To the Members of the Board:
During the three years ended December 1, 2006, the price of Applebees shares fell from $26.13 per share to $22.34, a decline of 14.5%, while total shareholder return fell 13.4% 1. Applebees performance in total return to shareholders during this period ranked 13th worst out of 14 comparable public companies.2 During this period other metrics of operating performance, growth and efficiency have declined as well.
In contrast, during this same three-year period shares of Darden Restaurants (Darden), operator of Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurants, rose from $20.47 to $40.06 (up 99% in total return), California Pizza Kitchen rose from $18.40 to $31.48 (up 71.1% in total return), and Brinker International, operator of Chilis, rose from $22.24 to $30.36 (up 38.3% in total return). If Applebees shares had matched Dardens share price performance record during this time, shares of Applebees would be trading at more than $50 per share, and the company would have created substantial new shareholder wealth. Instead, the aggregate value of Applebees shares has fallen by hundreds of millions of dollars.
As the owner of 3.9 million shares of Applebees International, Breeden Capital Management and funds managed by it believe this long run performance trend is an unacceptable state of affairs. The companys dismal performance record shows that the time is past for more of the same, and we believe the board needs fresh thinking, financial discipline and new leadership.
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1 Source for all share price and return information: Bloomberg.
2 Source: Nations Restaurant News (Volume 40, No. 26 Dinnerhouse Chains & Restaurants, Page 104). Includes PF Changs China Bistro, Applebees International, OSI Restaurant Partners, Inc. (Outback), Cheesecake Factory Incorporated, Ruby Tuesday Inc., Buffalo Wild Wings, Landrys Restaurants Inc.(owned Joes Crab Shack until October 2006), Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc., Rare Hospitality (LongHorn Steakhouse, Bugaboo Creek), Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Inc., OCharleys Inc., Brinker International (Chilis, Maggianos, Macaroni Grill, On The Border), California Pizza Kitchen, Inc. and Darden Restaurants, Inc. (Red Lobster, Olive Garden). This group excludes Texas Roadhouse (TXRH), which completed an initial public offering in October of 2004.
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Last August, shortly after Breeden Capital Management informed management that our funds were significant shareholders, the board saw fit to amend the companys bylaws to institute a requirement that the company be notified nearly six months in advance of the companys annual meeting of any candidate wishing to stand for election to Applebees board. As you know, this is a fairly unusual length of time, and it appears unrelated to any legitimate need of the company beyond entrenching board members even further than what the companys staggered board already does.
Absent this change in your bylaws, Breeden Capital Management would have had more time to watch the companys performance before making a decision whether or not to put forward board candidates. However, by your choice we must submit nominations now, or be foreclosed through the annual meeting in 2008 from having a chance for the companys shareholders to elect new members of the board. While we would have preferred to be able to continue observing the companys performance before deciding whether to submit our own candidates, the boards bylaw amendment forces us to make that decision now. As a result, we are today nominating four candidates for election to the companys board at the 2007 annual meeting.
As we have communicated in our previous discussions with your management team, Breeden Capital Management believes that Applebees offers customers an excellent product, and that you have a wonderful network of talented franchise operators. As major shareholders, we want to see the companys shareholders and its franchise owners prosper in the marketplace, and we do not have any current desire to see a change in senior management. Nonetheless, it is long past the time for the company to act with a sense of urgency to begin generating shareholder returns, as have many of your industry peers. The board has a critical role in pointing the company in the right direction and establishing strong discipline for performance. Dithering while shareholder value slips farther and farther behind is not what the board is paid to do.
We have communicated proven ideas for maximizing Applebees return on invested capital and shareholder value to your management team. When we did so, it was our hope that the new management would welcome ideas on how to correct the slide in shareholder value as well as key operating metrics that has been going on during the last three years. We were politely received, and we were assured that many changes were being studied. We were advised to wait to see the company take action. Like other shareholders, we have been waiting to see that action, but the company has not disclosed anything of significance.3 As demonstrated by the extremely poor third quarter results, the company continues to perform poorly. Evidently the board has not yet decided that action is required to stop Applebees further deterioration. In this environment, we do not believe that hope is an adequate strategic plan from the board.
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3 We do not regard increasing the authorization for share buybacksrecently announced by the company to be a significant step. You had substantial authorization to repurchase shares last summer when the stock price fell below $19 per share and essentially sat on your hands. Similarly, while we applaud any increase in dividends to shareholders, the token increase announced only this past week will not amount to anything significant because it does not reflect either improved operating performance or more sensible capital allocation policies.
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We will elaborate on our platform as we begin the process of soliciting proxies next year. It will include the items we discussed with management last summer and those set forth in our original Schedule 13D filed with the SEC. Though we believe it will be more productive to outline our platform in detail at a later time, it will certainly focus on the need for Applebees to:
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Significantly reduce the number of company-owned restaurants by re-franchising a substantial number of restaurants in a multi-year program. |
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Cease all further capital expenditures to open new company-owned restaurants, and minimize capital expenditures to renovate company-owned restaurants pending their sale. |
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Reduce overall expense levels, especially in corporate level overhead, and dispose of non-core assets. |
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Use excess cash generated from these steps and improved performance to increase the return of free cash flow to shareholders. |
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Improve various governance practices, including reducing the number of insiders on the companys board, precluding former CEOs from continued board service, strengthening independence requirements, eliminating the personal use of corporate aircraft and abolishing your staggered board. |
Our decision to put forward four board candidates, two of whom are not affiliated with our firm, was taken because we do not see any alternative catalyst for positive change. When elected, we believe that these candidates will bring wide perspective, fresh thinking and rigorous financial discipline to the work of the board. All shareholders will benefit from a stronger board that is able to evaluate and act upon opportunities for creating value.
Sincerely,
Richard C. Breeden
Chairman and CEO
Breeden Capital Management, LLC
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