TPG, Bain, Goldman to sell 12% of their Burger King shares

TPG Capital, Bain Capital Partners and the Goldman Sachs Funds will sell 15 million shares of US fast food behemoth Burger King, reducing their collective stake in the company by 12 percent.

The trio currently owns roughly 58 million shares of Burger King common stock, or approximately 43 percent of the company’s outstanding shares. Following the proposed secondary offering, underwritten by Goldman Sachs, the three firms will collectively retain a 31.6 percent stake in the Florida-based hamburger franchise, according to regulatory documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Out of the three firms that bought Burger King in 2003 for $1.5 billion, TPG will sell the biggest share of its holdings. The Fort Worth-based buyout group has registered 5.85 million shares for resale, reducing its ownership of Burger King common stock from 15.6 percent to 11.2 percent.

Bain Capital will sell 4.4 million of its 17.9 million shares, reducing its stake from 13.3 percent to 10.1 percent. Goldman will sell 4.75 million, reducing its ownership from 13.9 percent to 10.3 percent.

In a statement, Burger King said it will not receive any proceeds from the secondary offering and is not planning on issuing additional shares.

TPG, Bain and Goldman Sachs have steadily pared down their ownership stake in the fast-food chain after taking the company public in a $425 million IPO in 2006. Last November, the consortium filed to sell 18 million shares at $25 per share.

Burger King has proven to be a healthy revenue stream for the three firms ever since the consortium purchased the company from UK beverage maker Diageo for $1.5 billion in 2003. Since reaching a low of $15.48 in 2006, Burger King stock has jumped 89 percent to a 52 week high of $29.19 earlier this year.