Burger King sold to private equity firm for US$4bn

Burger King has over 12,000 outlets globally and is famed for its Whopper burgers, but the fast food giant has been hit by a recent fall in sales and has been subject to takeover rumours in the past few days.

Burger King floated on the US stock market in 2006. Before then it was owned by three private equity firms – TPG Capital, Goldman Sachs Funds and Bain Capital.

The three companies still own more than a third of the business, which is the second largest hamburger chain in the world behind rival McDonalds.

3G will take on Burger King's debt as part of the takeover, valuing the deal at US$4 billion overall.

It is as yet unclear what strategic plans 3G has for Burger king, which is headquartered in Miami and was founded in 1954.

One of the main investors behind 3G is Brazilian millionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann. The move marks 3G's first significant acquisition.

In July, Burger King appointed Publicis as its agency-of-record in Singapore, ousting incumbent agency Religion. Earlier in the year, the fast food giant made headlines following a guerilla marketing stunt involving a wallet drop to promo its BK affordables.

This article was originally published on marketingmagazine.co.uk.