Susan Senecal, president and CEO of A&W Food Services, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss the Income Fund's plans to do away with the REIT structure and convert bac
The A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund trades on the Toronto stock exchange and is the public arm of the restaurant chain, which itself is privately owned. The fund collects a royalty from sales at A&W restaurants and turns it into distributions for unitholders. “Growth has been our strategy for over 30 years, and that is certainly going to continue and I think be enabled even further by this new financial structure that will offer us more flexibility and enhanced opportunities for growth and success,” she said.
The deal, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in October. Current A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund unitholders can either accept $37 per unit now – a 30 per cent premium to what they were worth before the news – or have units transferred as shares in the new company.Senecal said the new company will be “strategically driven,” with a focus on growth for its franchisees.