Arby's moves its headquarters to Georgia

<p>Arby's, the fast-food chain best known for its roast beef, will move its headquarters from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Atlanta.</p><p>Under the agreement announced Tuesday, the owner of the Arby's brand, Triarc Co. of New York, will buy Dunwoody-based RTM Restaurant Group, the largest Arby's franchisee in the country. The purchase was made for $175 million in cash, 10 million shares of stock and the assumption of some debt.</p><p>About 140 people work at Arby's Fort Lauderdale headquarters, Triarc spokeswoman Anne Tarbell said. "Some will move, some will not move," she said. "We haven't discussed any details."</p><p>Triarc operates 233 Arby's restaurants. RTM operates 775 restaurants in 21 states. Triarc is the parent company of Arby's Franchise Trust, the franchiser of the Arby's restaurant system and its approximately 3,500 restaurants.</p><p>Triarc, which also owns the T.J. Cinnamons and Pasta Connection chains, said it is exploring spinning off its restaurant division as a publicly traded company.</p><p>Atlanta already is important to Arby's. In addition to being the home of RTM, the city is also headquarters of the Arby's Franchise Association, which handles the company's advertising.</p><p>Arby's joins a number of fast-food companies with headquarters in Atlanta, including Chick-fil-A, Moe's Southwest Grill, Church's Chicken, Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, Atlanta Bread Co. and Blimpie International.</p><p>The deal, which includes the assumption of about $420 million in net debt and about $185 million in leases and financing, is expected to close in the third quarter.</p><p>Douglas N. Benham, president and chief executive officer of Arby's since January 2004, will lead Arby's as its president and chief executive officer. Before joining Arby's, Benham was the chief financial officer of RTM. Thomas A. Garrett, currently president of RTM, will become Arby's chief operating officer.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cda154)</p>

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