Markets
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* First Wendy's restaurant planned for Tokyo
* Partnering with food importer Higa Industries Co Ltd
* Ownership split is 51 pct Higa; 49 pct Wendy's/Arby's
* Wendy's/Arby's shares up 1.3 percent (Adds ownership split, company comment, share activity)
LOS ANGELES, March 2 Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc WEN.N will re-enter the Japanese market through a partnership with food importer Higa Industries Co Ltd, and the first Wendy's restaurant will open its doors in Tokyo later this year.
In December 2009, Wendy's/Arby's allowed the agreement with its former franchisee for Japan to lapse. As a result, it closed 71 Wendy's restaurants and left the country.
"Over the next five years, we believe Wendy's has the potential to have a larger presence in Japan than when the brand departed the market at the end of 2009," said a Wendy's/Arby's spokesman, who declined to say how many restaurants the partners would open.
Higa will have a 51 percent stake in the partnership, while Wendy's/Arby's will own 49 percent.
Higa President Ernest M. Higa owned and operated 180 Domino's Pizza shops in Japan before selling that business in February 2010.
Nikkei, a Japanese news agency, reported that the partners planned to open 70 Wendy's restaurants within five years.
The deal is the first joint venture partnership for Wendy's/Arby's, which has said it is considering equity investments in other key markets, such as China and Brazil.
Shares in the third-biggest U.S. fast-food restaurant company, which is trying to sell its struggling Arby's roast beef chain [ID:nNSGE70J0A], rose 1.3 percent to $4.70 in afternoon trading. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Derek Caney and Maureen Bavdek)
