Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Fast-food restaurateur Wendy's/Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN) took an 11% jump for joy this morning on heavy volume before falling back to an 8% gain by lunchtime.

So what: This boost is fueled by buyout rumors as cable channel CNBC discussed a possible takeover this morning. Major shareholders were approached by private equity over the summer, but no buyout ever materialized -- could this be the real deal?

Now what: Already the product of a high-profile merger, Wendy's/Arby's is orders of magnitude smaller than McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) or Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) and thus an easy bite size for hungry capital firms. It's also a troubled business, barely breaking even over the last 12 months while those larger rivals made billions. Private equity firms love to buy up mismanaged businesses, clean house, and then flip the asset for a profit, so there could be some truth to these rumors.

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Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any of the companies discussed here. The Fool owns shares of Yum! Brands. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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