Business
Darden Restaurants Splits Company in Two
Patrons exit an Olive Garden, a Darden restaurant brand, in Short Pump, Va., May 22, 2014. (Steve Helber/AP Photo)
(USA Today) – Darden Restaurants plans to separate part of the company into an independent, publicly traded real estate investment trust, the company said Tuesday.
Darden, which owns Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, among other other restaurants, will spin off about 430 of its more than 1,500 restaurants into the REIT. The plan is to lease most all of them back to Darden. The company expects the deal to be complete by the end of the year.
The REIT is expected to give the company the opportunity to acquire more real estate, Darden said in a statement.
