What to do with Tims

Article Excerpt

TIM HORTONS INC. $88 (Toronto symbol THI; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 132.8 million; Market cap: $11.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.timhortons.com) has accepted a friendly takeover offer from Miami-based Burger King Worldwide (New York symbol BKW). Under the deal, Tim Hortons shareholders can opt to receive $88.50 a share in cash or 3.0879 Burger King shares (currently worth $106.05). Burger King will limit the overall cash payout, so most investors will likely receive $65.50 in cash plus 0.8025 of a share, for a total value of $93.06. Investors who hold shares outside RRSPs and other registered accounts will be liable for capital gains taxes. Burger King is taking on a lot of debt to pay for this purchase. As a result, it will likely cut its own dividend, which yields 1.0%, to conserve cash for debt repayment. As well, the U.S. government may change its laws to keep companies from cutting their tax bills by…