Feb 25 (Reuters) - Commercial kitchen equipment maker

Middleby ( MIDD ) said on Tuesday it will spin-off its food

processing business, and appointed activist investor Ed Garden

as an independent director.

With restaurants looking to reduce wait times and costs in

the kitchen, the company expects a rebound in demand for its

kitchen equipment business, which has stumbled due to choppy

dining-out traffic over the last year.

Middleby ( MIDD ) said the spun-off food processing business, which

makes products like bacon, bread and biscuits, would be a

standalone public company.

The Elgin, Illinois-headquartered firm had come under

pressure from Garden Investments, founded by Ed Garden, former

chief investment officer Nelson Peltz-led Trian Fund Management.

Middleby ( MIDD ) is the first investment for the Greenwich,

Connecticut-based Garden Investments.

Middleby ( MIDD ) had said in January it would consider strategic

options including splitting its food processing and residential

kitchen segment business units.

The company has a market capitalization of about $9.05

billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. The company also

named Kellanova's ( K ) chief marketing officer, Julie Bowerman,

as an independent director along with Garden.

The company's fourth-quarter net sales of 1.01 billion beat

analysts' average estimate of $998 million, while adjusted

earnings per share of $2.88 surpassed expectations of $2.52, as

per data compiled by LSEG.