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The Canadian-born fast food veteran, who is Domino’s biggest investor and the founder of Hungry Jack’s, acknowledged there had been plenty of private equity interest in buying shares, but claimed there was “zero” truth to the AFR article. “The reality is the share price has been undervalued, oversold, and there’s lots of people who have been looking around,” he said. “Private equity are looking to buy shares at an advantageous price. The shares in Domino’s have been attractive at this level.” The pizza business, which boomed during COVID lockdowns, has been struggling over the past three years as overly ambitious global expansion plans in Europe and Asia failed to bear fruit. Since the beginning of the year, its share price has almost halved and was languishing at $15.45 before Tuesday’s takeover boost, having reached a peak of more than $160 in September 2021. Leadership instability exacerbated the company’s flailing performance: long-serving global chief executive Don Meij was replaced by former Coca-Cola executive Mark van Dyck in November last year. Van Dyck closed 200 underperforming stores as one of his first moves before departing the business after just seven months in the role.
