I am having a heck of a time figuring this out. Does anyone have Applebees as a customer? We recently obtained their account and they frequently go over $10K. I am trying to figure out if it is a franchise or if it is owned by the Applebees International (traded on Nasdaq). I looked a little through the 10-K. I will keep digging and am bound to figure it out, but I thought I would see if anybody has a similar experience or can offer guidance. I talked with a manager there and she said they are corporate. But I am not sure who it owned by.

Did you obtain corporate resolutions when the account was opened? Your CIP process should either have exempted the account as a listed company or obtained corporate documentation (if a franchise). Where do the statements go?

I will check the CIP out, I should have done that before I posted. The statements go to the corporate I believe. One confusing thing I am trying to figure out is if they are owned by the Applebees itself, or another outfit that owns lots of Applebees. Hopefully that make sense. Thanks for your help. I will go to the CIP.

If the store is owned and operated by Applebee's, the account should be titled in the name of Applebee's International, Inc., and statements will probably be directed to Overland Park, Kansas.

We have them as a Phase II exemption.

I have an Applebee's and, for lack of a better example, is owned by an "Applebee's holding company". They own several restaurants, with my Applebee's included.

I have them exempted under a phase II exemption, as the "holding company" is not the same as corporate.

Hope I helped.

I have great success in confirming ownership by utilizing the "contact us" option on corporate web sites and asking that my request for information be forwarded to the Controller. I request ownership info for CTR exemption purposes and usually receive a standard BSA exemption response that is exactly what I need.

Thanks all for your help. I was out of office for a couple of days. The account is labeled "Apple Corps LP" and the statements go to Wichita, Kansas. When I call the corporate number on the account, they tell me it is Applebees (corporate) from Overland Park, Kansas. But looking over the website and things, they are not under the official Applebees International, Inc. name. So my best conclusion is it might some type of holding company. I will most likely just wait and exempt them as a Phase II customer after they have been here a year. Thanks.

You can always weigh your exemption at the end of the first year using the Phase II rules. However, if you wish to pursue the possibility of Phase I treatment in the meantime (many banks won't bother with Phase II exemptions because of the maintenance challenges), you might contact Applebee's corporate HQ and ask for clarification. Apple Corps LP might be an exemptible subsidiary.

But since Overland Park is close to 200 miles from Wichita, you might indeed be looking at a franchisee.

I received a call back from corporate today, and what our customer is a "franchisee". So we will wait for a year and then exempt them as a Phase II. Thanks all for your guidance.

Another Applebee's question.
We've had our location under a Phase I exemption (examiner approved) because it was an exemptable subsidiary of Applebees International Ltd.

I figured out this week that our Applebees has changed ownership ( to a different subsidiary of Applebees) and it's tax ID number. This happened in the beginning of October.

It's still considered a corporate location (I e-mailed them for confirmation, and the statements are stilling going to their corporate office in Kansas). Here's my question...

Do I need to fill out a new 'Designation of Exempt Person' form? If so, do I choose the 'exemption amended' option? And if I do that, where on the form does it say what exemption I'm amending?

And if I do need to refile the Designation form, does that mean I have to backfile any CTRs that were missed because the name change happened 45 days ago?

Thanks!

Bump...

You are now dealing with a different customer, even though the account didn't get closed and re-opened. You should not file an amendment. If the customer qualifies as a 51% owned subsidiary of a listed company, you have a new exemption to be filed. To make things clean, you might (but you don't have to) file a termination of the exemption of the person with the other EIN.

Thanks, John!

Another "wrench"

IHOP bought out Applebees some time ago ... how does that factor in?

APPB (Applebee's) is still a listed company and the closing transaction with IHP (IHOP) is not currently scheduled until Nov 29th, 2007. At that point of time, you will have to do another exemption form to bring it up to date as Applebee's is going to operate as a wholely owned subsidiary IHOP Corp. Your sure this a company owned store and not a franchise - right?? Pay attention also, because IHOP says they plan to franchise out most of the Applebee company stores in the future.