Wikipedia
DineEquity, Inc. , formerly known as IHOP Corporation, is an American company that both franchises and operates IHOP (International House of Pancakes) and Applebee's restaurants. The company is headquartered in Glendale, California, and was founded in 1976 as IHOP until after it acquired Applebee's when it changed its corporate identity. International, Inc announced on July 16, 2007 that it intended to acquire the bar-and-grill chain Applebee's International, Inc. in an all-cash transaction that was valued at approximately US$2.1 billion. Under the deal, IHOP paid would pay $25.50 per share for Applebee's. IHOP stated it would franchise most of Applebee's 500 company-owned stores. In 2015, Applebee's had 2,033 restaurants overall worldwide, all operated by franchisees.
Julia Stewart, who originally worked as a waitress at IHOP and worked her way up through the restaurant industry, became Chief Executive Officer of IHOP Corporation. She had previously been President of Applebee’s, but left after being overlooked for that company's CEO position. She became CEO of IHOP in 2001, and returned to manage her old company due to the acquisition.
With a larger than 70% vote, Applebee's stockholders approved the takeover, which closed on November 29, 2007. The deal beat 26 other offers to purchase the economically slumping Applebee's. A number of executives from Applebee's voted against the offer. The chain's largest individual shareholder, Applebee's director Burton "Skip" Sack, believed the purchasing price was unfair to the shareholders and planned to take IHOP to court. As part of the purchase, a brand re-marketing scheme and revitalization of the Applebee's image was undertaken.