Applebee’s to restate 3 years of earnings

Applebee’s International Inc. will restate earnings for the last three fiscal years to reflect a change in how the chain accounts for restaurant leases, the Overland Park-based company said Monday.

Applebee’s said it expected the changes to lower earnings in the fiscal year that ends in December by 1 cent per share. It will increase 2004 earnings by $1.3 million, or 2 cents per share, and increase earnings in 2003 by $800,000, or 1 cent per share. The company will lower earnings in 2002 by $2.5 million, or 3 cents per share.

Many retailers and restaurant companies are changing their accounting policies after the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a letter last month clarifying how to account for rental agreements.

Buyout

SunGard Data selling for $11 billion

In a move reminiscent of the blockbuster buyouts of the late 1980s, seven private investment firms said Monday they would pay almost $11 billion in cash to acquire SunGard Data Systems Inc., the financial software powerhouse known for trading services and creating backup data systems in the event of a disaster.

SunGard stockholders would receive $36 in cash for each share of Wayne, Pa.-based SunGard common stock they hold — a 14 percent premium to the company’s closing price Thursday, before the Good Friday holiday, of $31.55 per share.

SunGard valued the deal at $11.3 billion, while Thomson Financial pegged it at $10.964 billion.

SunGard shares rose $2.81, or 8.9 percent, to close at $34.36 on the New York Stock Exchange — a new 52-week high.

Fast food

Burger King fattens breakfast menu

Burger King began offering two new breakfast sandwiches Monday, including one that packs more calories and fat than a Whopper.

The Enormous Omelet Sandwich carries 730 calories and 47 grams of fat and comes with two eggs, sausage, three strips of bacon and two slices of melted American cheese on a bun. It’s heftier than a Whopper hamburger, which weighs in at 700 calories and 42 grams of fat.

Officials at Miami-based Burger King Corp. said that healthier choices also were available, but that surveys showed customers wanted bigger sandwiches.

International

Japan mulls report on beef safety

Japan’s food safety panel ruled Monday that relaxing domestic cattle testing standards for mad cow disease wouldn’t put consumers at risk, raising the possibility that Tokyo would reopen its lucrative market to U.S. beef imports.

Still, scientists don’t know enough about the disease to rule out risk completely, the panel said in a statement, which urged Tokyo to improve testing methods.

Japan banned U.S. beef imports in December 2003 after the discovery of the United States’ first case of mad cow disease.