Burger King Reportedly Considering Selling Company

NEW YORK — Shares of Burger King Holdings Inc. soared 15 percent Wednesday after published reports said the fast food chain was in talks to be acquired by a private equity firm.

Both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that 3G Capital was among parties interested in pursuing a deal with Burger King. Neither publication named its sources.

Earlier in the day, The Wall Street Journal reported that the interested party was a different firm, 3i Group PLC.

When 3i denied its involvement, Burger King momentarily lost much of its hefty stock gains it made during the morning.

But the company's shares ended up gaining $2.41, or 15 percent, to $18.86 Wednesday.

A spokesman from Burger King declined to comment on the report, and a message left with 3G wasn't immediately returned.

In a research note, R.W. Baird analyst David E. Tarantino told investors that he was boosting his price target on the stock, expecting it to climb 15.5 percent in the next year. He'd previously expected a 9.4 percent gain.

But he said the likelihood of a buyout is speculative.

"Media reports ... seem plausible, but such a transaction remains highly uncertain," he wrote to investors, adding that the Miami company has healthy cash flows and an opportunity to increase productivity while expanding overseas.

Burger King is the second-largest hamburger chain after McDonald's Corp. But it's faring worse than its rival in a weak economy.

Burger King has 12,000 restaurants, already has connections to private equity firms. It was acquired by a group of firms in 2002 and went public in 2006. Those firms – TPG Capital, Bain Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs Funds – still own more than 30 percent of Burger King's outstanding shares.

Comments

[Pagoas]

11:55 AM on 09/02/2010

the last time i went to a burger king, which was across the street from my college, i opened the door and a roach skittered out and ran away from the restaurant­. i was grossed out and took that as an omen that even roaches knew better than to eat there.

[den1953]

11:42 AM on 09/02/2010

Maybe Burger King can hitch up with Dairy Queen and America can have royalty!

[den1953]

11:38 AM on 09/02/2010

Now that is what i call a whopper of a story!

[bassboatboy]

11:27 AM on 09/02/2010

THIS IS GOOD NEWS! THE KING DESERVES TO BE AROUND ROYALTY :)

[Clem2]

10:56 AM on 09/02/2010

Burger King is one greasy spoon I won't eat in. Just their ads are revolting. Anyone could get a better ad agency than the one they have.

[westreal]

10:18 AM on 09/02/2010

I'd better buy some onion rings before the new owners mess up the menu.

[solid]

09:55 AM on 09/02/2010

they'd have to pay ME to take it.

[american-dolt]

09:36 AM on 09/02/2010

Another Giant Conglomera­te will buy them up. First order of Business, Cut Costs and Maximize Profits. Make this dogmess even more unhealthy, and cut workers pay.

[boyer37212]

10:12 AM on 09/02/2010

After the slice and dice, they'll hire some young, gung ho MBAs to come up with some with some new menu items that wll boost profits in th short term, like:

The Chili-Chic­ken-Cheese­-Wich -- chicken nuggets on a sesame seed bun covered in chili & triple cheese sauce
The LobWhopper -- lobster inspired layers of meat with a triple cheese sauce
The Knuckler -- Pig knuckles on a sesame seed bun overed in chili & triple cheese sauce


NOTES:
These will require half the kitchen staff and no grill. Just pour from a can and microwave, therefore saving on fuel and labor costs. We'll have the egg guy in Iowa run the main central commissary since he can do things on the cheap (get it?). We'll get rid of th BK truck fleet and hire indepndent­s from Mexico to deliver food to our franchise owner.

[leeman79]

09:28 AM on 09/02/2010

Walmart should buy it. We should only have one fast food chain.

[RedDog79]

09:23 AM on 09/02/2010

I wonder if Burger King's lagging sales have anything to do with the stupid "king" commercial­s. That thing is frightenin­g. not sure what the marketing dept. was trying to accomplish with those stupid commercial­s.

[GeoNorth]

10:34 AM on 09/02/2010

They're trying to be edgy. All they accomplish is "psychotic­".

[sunnycreek]

08:27 AM on 09/02/2010

I hope someone buys it and puts some real food in there.

[lodger16x]

04:46 AM on 09/02/2010

I have this sneaking suspicion that the structural problems of the American economy don't have much to do with McDonald's or Burger King.

[lodger16x]

04:41 AM on 09/02/2010

Comic relief. When I was in high school, circa 1978, this cool classmate guy with a mustache and a Camaro, bought from working a tobacco patch on his dad's farm in TN, asked me to take a ride with him because, well, there was no one else. We hit the main drag, and the newest restaurant was a "Weiner King" drive-in. He said, as we passed it, "that may be the Weiner King, but I'm still the King Weiner"! Get it?

[yellowdoggie]

06:14 AM on 09/02/2010

No. Could you explain it to me, please?

[Jack Straw]

09:12 AM on 09/02/2010

What happened to the comic relief you promised? Your story seems mostly concerned with your fawning over some guy with a mustache and a tobacco patch Camaro talking about being King Weiner. Yikes

[Carolab]

03:39 AM on 09/02/2010

3i Group. Brits.

[Clem2]

10:59 AM on 09/02/2010

Who have awful food. But it can't be more awful than what BK has now.

[Weitberg]

03:07 AM on 09/02/2010

"Speculati­on continues to grow that Burger King will soon be up for sale, and while there are many prospectiv­e buyers most of them would rather attempt to buy McDonald's since it is more popular, has far more locations and the french fries remind them of their childhoods­."

TheWeekinR­ebuke.com