Following in the footsteps of Wendy’s International, McDonald’s Corp. may present its Chipotle Mexican Grill chain in an initial public stock offering.
According to analyst Peter Oakes, who met this week with McDonald’s CFO Matthew Paull and North America President Ralph Alvarez, the announcement could come next month. Oakes also said, in a research note, that McDonald’s “had sharpened its pencil once again to assess what if any value a real estate-type transaction would provide shareholders and management again concluded that the financial upside would be minimal at best while jeopardizing the company’s longer-term business model in doing so.”
Earlier this month, increased trading activity on McDonald’s call options created rumors that private equity firms may be interested in acquiring a stake in the company’s real estate assets; however, the company declined to comment on the hearsay.
