McDonald’s Sets Franchising Push

Chicago Tribune:

McDonald’s Corp. Chief Executive Jim Skinner said Wednesday that the company will speed up franchising of stores it owns and that it won’t fight a New York City proposal to ban trans fats in prepared foods.

The company intends ‘to make a bigger commitment to franchising,’ Skinner told analysts at a conference. ‘At the same time, we believe it is critical to own and operate a certain number of restaurants.’

Oak Brook-based McDonald’s has faced pressure from activist investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management LP to increase the number of restaurants run by franchisees and independent operators.

Ackman wants the company to spend less capital on its outlets and more on dividends and share buybacks, as Skinner has done this year.

Pershing, a New York-based hedge fund, plans to buy more than $2 billion of McDonald’s shares and might wage a proxy fight aimed at boosting their price, a person familiar with the matter said in September.

The restaurant chain wants to reduce to below 30% the percentage of restaurants it owns in major countries.