DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) will replace Novell Inc.
(NOVL) in the Standard & Poor's 500 index, as the software
maker is being taken private by a group of private-equity
firms.
S&P didn't state a date on which the swap will occur, as the
deal to take Novell private hasn't yet been finalized.
Novell in November agreed to be taken over by a trio of
private-equity firms--Francisco Partners, Golden Gate Capital and
Thoma Bravo LLC--for about $2.2 billion, ending an eight-month
battle for the software company.
Chipotle, which runs its namesake burrito restaurants, earlier
Wednesday reported that its first-quarter earnings climbed 23% as
it raised its same-store sales growth outlook for the year.
Still, investors sold off the stock, which fell 3.4% to $277.50
in recent after-hours trading. As of the close, the stock had more
than doubled in value in the past year and had risen 35% so far
this year.
-By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855;
nathan.becker@dowjones.com