Rohan’s view
After Semafor reported last week that Chipotle had tapped bankers to fend off a potential takeover, we started digging to see who might take over the $40 billion burrito maker. People close to the company tell Semafor that Chipotle hasn’t received a takeover bid, and we’re loath to peddle in deal rumors. But one theory that keeps coming up is notable, either because it highlights the dearth of good ideas out there or because it’s so out of left-field it just might bear entertaining: A Starbucks-Chipotle tie-up.
No, we’re not talking about a pumpkin spice burrito bowl (in fact, we’re begging Brian Niccol, the former Chipotle CEO who now runs Starbucks, not to go there.) But a Yum Brands-esque approach where — like KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell — the chains operate separately but combine their real-estate footprints and back-office operations makes sense on paper. Niccol worked at Yum for more than a decade and understands that scale matters in razor-thin restaurant margins. And Starbucks could provide a platform to grow Chipotle’s nascent international business. Starbucks declined to comment. Chipotle did not return a request for comment.
Of course, Starbucks would instantly rerate at a lower multiple if it pursued Chipotle, and would likely have to sell new stock to pay for it, further pressuring shares that are flat since Niccol took over in 2024. It would also require a pretty gutsy board of directors willing to make another bet on a CEO it’s still getting to know — and who has yet to prove out the turnaround strategy at his own company. There have been weirder marriages.
Notable
- Brian Niccol has an appetite for turnarounds, Semafor’s Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson wrote earlier this year. Before Starbucks, he was already at Chipotle, which he helped revive after a food poisoning crisis to deliver a near 800% share price surge.