Tim Hortons begins investor roadshows next week for its first bond offering – you can assume the coffee will be decent.
RBC Dominion Securities, the investment bank that took Tim Hortons public, and Scotia Capital are running what’s expected to be a $250-million private placement of bonds. TD Waterhouse noted in a report late Wednesday that DBRS has assigned a single A (low) rating to the planned issue, which means the bonds are investment grade.
The restaurant chain is tapping new sources of funding at the same time it negotiates who will have full ownership of its baking operations. The ovens are currently run as a joint venture with a Swiss baking conglomerate - Aryzta AG - and the partner invoked a shotgun agreement with the Canadian chain earlier this month. Analysts expect Tim Hortons will eventually take out Aryzta.
Ownership is expected to be decided by the end of this year, and Tim Hortons has given no indication of how much it would cost to buy out the Swiss.
