September 18, 2007
New Details About the Sale of Applebee’s to IHOP
New details are emerging about the sale of Applebee’s to IHOP, first described in a July 18 Blog posting. See below. A proxy statement that Applebee’s International, Inc. filed in early September revealed that the Applebee’s board voted 9-5 to sell the company to IHOP Corp., with dissenting votes coming from top executives including the chief executive, chief financial officer and chairman and past CEO. The dissenters voted against the deal on the ground that the IHOP proposal of $25.50 a share was unfair to stockholders. The Applebee’s-IHOP deal still faces approval by the Applebee’s shareholders. If the deal does not close, Applebee’s will pay a $60 million breakup fee to IHOP.