Lewis Burns, whose career with Dover Corp. spanned more than 40 years, died Nov. 17. He was 75. Burns joined the Downers Grove, Ill., company as a staff accountant and served as president and CEO of Dover Industries. He retired in 2003 but continued to serve as a director of Dover Industries for two more…

Yum! Brands, parent of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, is reorganizing its business into separate reporting divisions by brand, with China and India remaining as individual divisions. On Jan. 1, 2014, Yum!’s three major restaurant brands will combine their U.S. systems with the former Yum Restaurants Int’l. division (YRI) and have individual global business…

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Roark Capital Group has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in CKE Inc. Senior management at the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s chains will retain a minority stake. Currently, CKE is majority-owned and controlled by affiliates of Apollo Global Management. Terms of the transaction, expected to close in the…

Taylor Precision Products, the Chicago-based company maker of thermometers, timer and scales, has added Metrokane Inc., a maker of barware and wine accessories, to its brand portfolio. Metrokane, which manufactures wine accessories and barware, is the parent company of Rabbit and Houdini brands. Its founder, Riki Kane, will remain with the company for a long…

Two of the largest broadline distributors in the country will be joining forces. On Dec. 9, Sysco agreed to buy rival US Foods for about $3.5 billion in stock and cash. Under the terms of the agreement announced Monday, Houston-based Sysco will pay $3 billion in common stock and $500 million in cash. It also…

The Catering Equipment Suppliers Association is marking its 75th anniversary this year. CESA, first established in 1938, is the UK’s largest and most influential membership group for companies that manufacture, import/export, distribute, install and/or service commercial catering equipment. It has more than 160 members encompassing the full spectrum of equipment and ancillary services, utensils and…

After nearly 40 years as a one-company man, Ian Garner, managing director of Hobart Cooking Solutions, will retire at the end of the year. Garner began his 39-year tenure with the UK operation on the accounts team and in sales, before becoming sales director in 1994, director for sales and marketing in ‘97, and managing…

Bloomin’ Brands EVP Pat Murtha has been named president of Bloomin’ Brands International. Murtha will be responsible for helping define, develop and implement the international growth strategy for Bloomin’ Brands, and will be a member of the executive leadership team. Prior to joining Bloomin’ Brands, Murtha held leadership roles at Yum! Brands, where he spent…

Burger King, which first entered China in 2005, is expanding into the country’s southwestern market. In August, it opened its first restaurant in Chengdu, Sichuan province, marking the chain’s first outlet in southwestern China and a crucial first step for Burger King’s development across the region. Over the next five years, the Miami, Fla., chain…