Hopes of buying a Starbucks Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso and a Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl under one roof through a possible merger of the two quick-service restaurant chains were squashed Monday morning.
"As a matter of policy, we don't comment on rumors and speculation, but we want to be clear we are not buying Chipotle," a Starbucks spokesperson told Barron's. The company said it remains focused on executing its "Back to Starbucks" turnaround strategy.
The rumor mill around the two QSRs' potential marriage began last Thursday, after a Financial Times report said Starbucks had explored acquiring Chipotle.
Analysts have expressed skepticism about the potential deal, which would be one of the biggest takeovers in the restaurant industry.
William Blair restaurant analyst Sharon Zackfia provided her first take on last week's news:
The Financial Times is reporting that Starbucks is exploring a potential takeover of Chipotle (CMG $32.88; Outperform), the restaurant concept that Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol helmed for 6 years prior to moving to Starbucks just over 2 years ago. Clearly, Niccol knows the Chipotle business extraordinarily well, which at a bare minimum is likely reassuring to Chipotle investors since the stock has declined more than 35% since the news of Niccol's departure. But what would a combined company look like, and what possible synergies and efficiencies exist?
There are no obvious revenue synergies between the two br
