Darden Restaurants (DRI) plans to split a part of the company into an independent, publicly traded real estate investment trust. Darden which owns brands like Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse would spin off close to 430 of its more than 1500 restaurants into a REIT. The plan is to lease all of the said restaurants back to Darden. In a statement, the company said that it expects the deal to be completed by the end of the year. The company also said that the REIT would allow the company to acquire more real estate in the near future. Source
REIT Conversion
