Panera's Raises Debt To Fund A Buyback Featuring Stan Druck

Panera’s Raises Debt To Fund A Buyback Feat. Stan Druck by Activist Stocks

This is a little about Panera and a little about the current state of debt and buybacks. As you’ll recall, Luxor Capital gave Panera a call a couple weeks ago and convinced the company to raise debt to fund a buyback.

Panera was a primary activist target in the fast casual space, if only because it had a down year in 2014 — its first down year since 2007. And inching closer to 2,000 stores, growth is naturally slowing.

Its dual class structure has dissuaded most activists, but Luxor’s smooth Christian Leone can talk the pants off almost anyone. Panera’s class B shares have 3x the voting...