Darden Restaurants to Spin Off 420 Restaurants into REIT, Names CEO

by Nellie Day

ORLANDO, FLA. – Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) has announced its plans to create a spin-off REIT called Four Corners Property Trust. Darden will transfer about 420 of its owned restaurant properties to Four Corners, which will lease those properties back to Darden.

Darden currently owns and operates more than 1,500 restaurants. Its most notable brands include Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s and Yard House.

Bill Lenehan has been named CEO of Four Corners. Lenehan sits on Darden’s board of directors and is running for re-election at the company’s 2015 annual meeting of shareholders. He will resign from the board if the Four Corners spin-off becomes official.

Lenehan has also removed himself from the independent committees of Darden’s board.

“The board and I have been incredibly impressed with Bill’s leadership, knowledge, and skill related to the Four Corners transaction,” says Gene Lee, Darden’s CEO. “We have also been impressed with his vision and capability, which gives us confidence he will be able to lead and transform Four Corners into a leading growth company.“

Four Corners filed an initial Form 10 Registration Statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Aug. 11, though it has not yet been declared effective by the SEC and is subject to completion. Darden expects to file subsequent amendments to the Form 10 prior to completion of the separation and spin-off.

The separation and spin-off remains subject to certain conditions, including obtaining final approval of the transaction from the Darden board of directors, receipt by Darden of an opinion of counsel regarding certain U.S. federal income tax matters and the effectiveness of the Form 10.

The new entity plans to register as an independent, publicly traded REIT by Jan. 1, 2016.

Darden Restaurants is based in Orlando. It currently generates $6.8 billion in annual sales and employs 150,000 people. Darden’s stock price closed at $72.37 per share on Friday, Aug. 14, up from $45.40 just one year ago.

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