Restaurant Brands' immediate sale chances have cooled but the company remains an appetising medium-term prospect as long as management can reheat the Pizza Hut business, says shareholder Tower Asset Management.
The fast-food firm's chairman, Ted van Arkel, this week said talks with prospective buyers had been discontinued butthe company was willing to consider proposals which offered value for shareholders.
Paul Robertshawe of Tower Asset Management, which holds just under 5 per cent of the company, said short-term prospects of a sale were now "somewhat limited".
Over the medium term, Restaurant Brands' prospects depended on a turnaround at its struggling Pizza Hut division.
"That was probably the major drawback for investors that were looking at it. In 12 months' time, if Pizza Hut looks like it's stabilised and margins are increasing again, people may have another look," Robertshawe said.
Although a notice yesterday to the stock exchange showed Tower had slightly reduced its holding, Robertshawe said it had been building its stake over recent months.
Restaurant Brands shares closed unchanged at 91c yesterday and sources say the board rejected a bid "well north" of $1.20.
