OAKVILLE, Ontario – Groupe Bertrand, Burger King France’s largest shareholder, signed an offer letter to acquire Quick, a fast-food hamburger chain owned by Qualium Investissement, according to a news release. Burger King France intends to convert the Quick restaurants to Burger King restaurants over time. The transaction is subject to regulatory, shareholder and bondholder approvals.
The deal includes 509 restaurants in France, Belgium and Luxembourg. Burger King already operates 26 French outlets. The proposed transaction is expected to close by the end of 2015. Daniel Schwartz, CEO of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI), said the addition of Quick significantly accelerates growth of Burger King restaurants in France, where the company made its return in 2012 after a 15-year hiatus.
“Burger King France, our master franchise joint venture in France, has achieved great success over the past two years, building restaurants with average annual sales of €5 million, one of the highest levels in the world, and expects to have approximately 50 restaurants in the country by year end,” Schwartz added. RBI owns Tim Hortons and Burger King.
If the transaction is approved, Burger King will become the second-largest fast food chain in France behind McDonald’s Corp.
“This transaction represents a significant step forward for Burger King France, which will have more than 500 restaurants and €1 billion of system sales following the transaction,” said Josh Kobza, CFO of RBI. “Following the conversion, Burger King is expected to be the #2 QSR brand in France, and France will become one of the largest markets for Burger King globally. The transaction highlights the strength of our partnership with Groupe Bertrand and the master franchise joint venture model to accelerate the pace of our growth around the world.”
Quick is a European QSR group with operations in France Belgium and Luxembourg. It is owned by private equity firm Qualium Investissement. In 2014, Quick served 200 million customers and generated system-wide sales of €1.0 billion.
Groupe Bertrand is a family owned company which operates restaurants, hotels and beverage distribution companies.
