Company News : Wendy’s shares soar on sales talk

In the last year, Wendy’s International Inc. has spun off its Tim Hortons coffee-and-doughnut chain, dumped its money-losing Baja Fresh Mexican Grill and laid off employees at its corporate office.

The company may now seek a boost to its stock price with another tactic — selling off what’s left of the nation’s third largest hamburger chain.

“We’ve had a lot of initiatives and we’ve executed them well over the last two years,” Chief Executive Kerrii Anderson said. “That’s created a tremendous amount of value over the last 12 months, and we have a responsibility to continue to create value.”

The company announced Wednesday that a special board committee had been formed to study options for the company, including a possible sale.

Thursday, one day after the announcement, Wendy’s shares shot up more than 16 percent, or $5.31, to close at $37.99 on the New York Stock Exchange, its highest level since the spin off of Tim Hortons last fall when the stock reached a record $67.19.

“A judge on Thursday authorized Dana Corp. to pay about $26 million to the cluster of law firms, restructuring consultants and financial advisers working on its bankruptcy reorganization.

Judge Burton Lifland of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan approved the payment of four months’ worth of fees and expenses to 19 firms after they reached a compromise with a Justice Department official. The official, acting U.S. Trustee Diana G. Adams, had expressed concern about Dana’s rising restructuring costs.

“Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reducing the number of lower-level managers at its Sam’s Club stores, the world’s largest retailer said Thursday.

The statement said company officials expect that about 250 of its lower-level managers at Sam’s Clubs will opt to leave the company, out of about 100,000 workers in Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club.

The company operates more than 575 Sam’s Clubs — named for the company founder, the late Sam Walton — which offer members discounts on bulk purchases.

“The chief architect of Sony Corp.’s flagship PlayStation game console will retire in June as the company struggles to retain its dominance in the video game industry.

Ken Kutaragi, 56, an icon among gamers, will step down as Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.’s chairman and group chief executive, Tokyo-based Sony said Thursday. He will be replaced by Kazuo Hirai, the president and chief operating officer of the division.