UPDATE: It's 3G Capital, not 3i Group, That Is Hungry For BK
Today’s big news is that Burger King is holding potential sales talks with buyout shops. The Wall Street Journal, which reported the discussions, says BK has been in talks with PE firms for weeks and one interested firm was 3i Group. However, 3i is denying the discussions. “We are not in talks to buy Burger King,” a 3i spokeswoman wrote in an email Wednesday. This isn’t the first time BK has sought out help from PE firms. In fact, buyout firms once owned Burger King. Diageo, in 2002, sold the home of the whopper to TPG, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs for $1.5 billion. Burger King then went public in 2006 and the PE firms sold much of their holdings. TPG still owns a roughly 11% stake, Bain has 10% and Goldman Sachs also holds about 10% as of June 30, according to Yahoo Finance.
