Transactions with Related Parties

The following is a summary of transactions between the Company and its related parties, which are included in continuing operations:



	Year Ended
	2016			2015			2014
Transactions with QSCC:
Wendy’s Co-Op (a)	$	(890	)	$	(1,265	)	$	(1,516	)
Lease income (b)	(193		)	(185		)	(185		)
Use of Company-operated aircraft by the Management Company (c)	$	—		$	—		$	(375	)
TimWen lease and management fee payments (d)	$	11,602		$	11,843		$	6,064

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Transactions with QSCC

(a)

Wendy’s has a purchasing co-op relationship agreement (the “Wendy’s Co-op”) with its franchisees which establishes Quality Supply Chain Co-op, Inc. (“QSCC”). QSCC manages, for the Wendy’s system in the U.S. and Canada, contracts for the purchase and distribution of food, proprietary paper, operating supplies and equipment under national agreements with pricing based upon total system volume. QSCC’s supply chain management facilitates continuity of supply and provides consolidated purchasing efficiencies while monitoring and seeking to minimize possible obsolete inventory throughout the Wendy’s supply chain in the U.S. and Canada.

Wendy’s and its franchisees pay sourcing fees to third-party vendors on certain products sourced by QSCC. Such sourcing fees are remitted by these vendors to QSCC and are the primary means of funding QSCC’s operations. Should QSCC’s sourcing fees exceed its expected needs, QSCC’s board of directors may return some or all of the excess to its members in the form of a patronage dividend. Wendy’s recorded its share of patronage dividends of $890, $1,265 and $1,516 in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively, which are included as a reduction of “Cost of sales.”

(b)

Effective January 1, 2011, Wendy’s leased 14,333 square feet of office space to QSCC for an annual base rental of $176. The lease expired on December 31, 2016. A new lease agreement was signed effective January 1, 2017, expiring on December 31, 2020 for an annual base rental of $215. The Wendy’s Company received $193, $185 and $185 of lease income from QSCC during 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively, which has been recorded as a reduction of “General and administrative.”

Use of Company-operated aircraft by the Management Company

(c)

The Wendy’s Company, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, was party to a three-year aircraft management and lease agreement, which expired in March 2014, with CitationAir, a subsidiary of Cessna Aircraft Company, pursuant to which the Company leased a corporate aircraft to CitationAir to use as part of its Jet Card program fleet. During the first quarter of 2014, our Chairman, who was our former Chief Executive Officer, and our Vice Chairman, who was our former President and Chief Operating Officer (the “Former Executives”) and a director, who was our former Vice Chairman, and members of their immediate families, used their Jet Card agreements for business and personal travel on aircraft in the Jet Card program fleet. A management company formed by the Former Executives and a director (the “Management Company”) paid CitationAir directly, and the Company received credit from CitationAir for charges related to such travel of approximately $375 during 2014.

TimWen lease and management fee payments

(d)

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Wendy’s leases restaurant facilities from TimWen for the operation of Wendy’s/Tim Hortons combo units in Canada. Prior to the second quarter of 2015, Wendy’s operated certain of the Wendy’s/Tim Hortons combo units in Canada and subleased some of the restaurant facilities to franchisees. As a result of the Company completing its plan to sell all of its Company-operated restaurants in Canada to franchisees during the second quarter of 2015, all of the restaurant facilities are subleased to franchisees. Wendy’s paid TimWen $11,806, $12,059 and $6,313 under these lease agreements during 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. In addition, TimWen paid Wendy’s a management fee under the TimWen joint venture agreement of $204, $216 and $249 during 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively, which has been included as a reduction to “General and administrative.”

Other related party transactions

On June 2, 2015, the Company entered into a stock purchase agreement to repurchase our common stock from Nelson Peltz, Peter W. May (Messrs. Peltz and May are members of the Company’s Board of Directors) and Edward P. Garden (who served on the Company’s Board of Directors until December 14, 2015) and certain of their family members and affiliates, investment funds managed by Trian Fund Management, L.P. (an investment management firm controlled by Messrs. Peltz, May and Garden, “TFM”) and the general partner of certain of those funds (together with Messrs. Peltz, May and Garden, certain of their family members and affiliates and TFM, the “Trian Group”), who in the aggregate owned approximately 24.8% of the Company’s outstanding shares as of May 29, 2015. Pursuant to the agreement, the Trian Group agreed not to tender or sell any of its shares in the modified Dutch auction tender offer the Company commenced on June 3, 2015. Also pursuant to the agreement, the Company agreed, following completion of the tender offer, to purchase from the Trian Group a pro rata amount of its shares based on the number of shares the Company purchased in the tender offer, at the same price received by shareholders who participated in the tender offer. On July 17, 2015, after completion of the modified Dutch auction tender offer, the Company repurchased 18,416 shares of its common stock from the Trian Group at the price paid in the tender offer of $11.45 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $210,867.

Matthew Peltz served on the ARG Holding Corporation Board of Directors from September 2012 through December 2015. He did not receive compensation as a director of ARG Holding Corporation. A subsidiary of the Company owns 18.5% of the common stock of ARG Holding Corporation.

On March 24, 2014, the Company completed the sale of 40 Company-operated restaurants in the Phoenix, Arizona market to Arizona Restaurant Company, LLC (“ARC”) as part of the Company’s system optimization initiative. John N. Peters, who served as the Company’s Senior Vice President – North America Operations until his retirement on March 10, 2014, is a 10% owner and manager of ARC. Pursuant to an Asset Purchase Agreement dated November 20, 2013 and related transaction documents: (1) the Company sold to ARC substantially all of the assets (other than real property) used in the operation of the restaurants for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $21,000 (including inventory, cash banks and franchise and development fees), subject to adjustment as set forth in the agreement; (2) the Company and ARC entered into lease and sublease agreements with respect to the real property and buildings for the restaurants; and (3) ARC agreed to develop five new restaurants and complete Image Activation remodels at seven existing restaurants following the closing. As of December 28, 2014 the Company had $27 accrued for amounts owed to Mr. Peters in connection with his employment with the Company, which was paid during 2015.

As part of its overall retention efforts, The Wendy’s Company provided certain of its Former Executives and current and former employees, the opportunity to co-invest with The Wendy’s Company in certain investments. During 2013, The Wendy’s Company and certain of its former management had one remaining co-investment, 280 BT Holdings LLC (“280 BT”), a limited liability company formed to invest in certain operating entities. In early 2014, 280 BT received a liquidating distribution following the dissolution of its last investment. Upon receipt of the liquidating distribution, 280 BT made a final, equivalent distribution to its members in accordance with the terms of its operating agreement. The ownership percentages in 280 BT for the purpose of the distribution and as of December 29, 2013 for The Wendy’s Company, the former officers of The Wendy’s Company and other investors were 80.1%, 11.2% and 8.7%, respectively. The distribution during the first quarter of 2014 to The Wendy’s Company and the former officers of The Wendy’s Company was $22 and $5, respectively.