One of Canada’s most prominent restaurant franchisors wants to gobble up a competitor.
Foodtastic Inc., the Montreal-based company behind 30 brands including Milestones, Freshii, Second Cup and Dunkin’s forthcoming foray into Canada, went public Tuesday with a takeover offer for MTY Food Group Inc.
MTY, which is also headquartered in Montreal, operates the Thai Express, Manchu Wok, Country Style and Big Smoke Burger banners among others.
The pitch valued at $982 million came about two weeks after Foodtastic said MTY rebuffed a prior takeover attempt.
The latest proposal was publicized within minutes of MTY announcing that Victor Mandel, a member of the company’s board, would immediately replace chief executive Eric Lefebvre in the top job.
MTY offered no reason for the leadership swap and did not immediately comment on Foodtastic’s proposal, but Mandel said in a statement that his appointment “is an opportunity to establish a new chapter for MTY, grounded in accountability, operational excellence and a clear commitment to delivering value for our shareholders.”
Foodtastic chief executive Peter Mammas said he is making a play for MTY because he long admired the business, but he thinks it has room for improvement.
“MTY is a great company with excellent opportunities, but it has unfortunately not lived up to its full potential in recent years,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
“We are very excited about the proposed transaction and believe it would not only deliver full and certain value to MTY’s shareholders but also would be an incredible combination for its franchisees and employees.”
MTY launched a strategic review in November 2025, when its stock was under pressure and rising prices, competition and economic volatility were threatening the business.
The company warned the process could end in a sale, but when it wrapped up last month, there was no buyer and MTY instead opted to reshape its business, including work to optimize its portfolio of brands.
Foodtastic has charged that MTY has “acquired too many concepts—some good and some bad—and it is not generating organic growth in the aggregate.”
“We believe getting MTY’s portfolio back on track requires patient, long-term focus, which is very difficult to do under the short-term pressure of public markets,” Mammas said in a letter to MTY that he published Tuesday.
Foodtastic’s offer is structured as $43 per MTY share in cash — a 32 per cent premium on MTY’s current share price. MTY shares closed at $32.75 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday.
Foodtastic, which first made a proposal to the MTY board on Oct. 15 and reiterated the plan on Oct. 20, said it was “disappointed” the offer was rejected.
“Nevertheless, we are confident that MTY’s shareholders will recognize the compelling value of our proposed transaction,” Mammas said in his statement.
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Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2026.
