NPC International, the bankrupt franchisee of Wendy's (NASDAQ: WEN) and Pizza Hut restaurants, announced in court filings this week it has settled on the $816 million stalking horse bid from Flynn Restaurant Group and canceled further bidding on its assets. A stalking horse bid sets a floor for other competing offers. NPC, which is the largest Wendy's franchisee, operates about 400 Wendy's restaurants and 1,200 Pizza Huts from Yum! Brands. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July as it was unable to finance almost $900 million worth of debt. Image source: Wendy's. Ownership is a point of contention Wendy's opposes the acquisition by Flynn because its franchisee agreements prohibit the ownership of competing chains. Flynn also owns some 1,200 Applebee's, Arby's, Panera, and Taco Bell restaurants. As a result, Wendy's and a consortium of its regional franchise owners placed their own bid for NPC's business. Last month, however, a bankruptcy court judge designated Flynn's bid as the highest bid received, subject to receiving other offers. Wendy's contends it is still an active player in the auction, though, according to The Wall Street Journal. Wendy's has been in talks with Flynn to drop its opposition to its purchase in return for Flynn agreeing to invest tens of millions of dollars in the restaurants. If the sale to Flynn Restaurant Group goes through, NPC's assets will almost double in size, to around 2,800 restaurants. 10 stocks we like better than Wendy'sWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Wendy's wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of November 20, 2020 Rich Duprey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source