McDonald's (MCD), Wendy's (WEN) Rival to Go Public Once Again
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If you've been investing in McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) but feel the ride might be coming to a halt soon (see: Goldman Sachs' note from this morning), here's some good news for you: Burger King might be going public again.
It's hard to quantify the mass hysteria surrounding a potential BK IPO, but some have put it on the same level of Annie's (NYSE: BNNY) and Facebook (Nasdaq: FB)(NYSE: FB).
The WSJ tracks the re-listing as such: Investment vehicle Justice Holdings paid $1.4 billion to 3G Capital for a 29 percent stake in BK. Justice Holdings will than cease to be listed as a public company. 3G will remain BK's largest shareholder following a re-listing, with a 71 percent stake. William Ackman, who co-owns a portion of Justice Holdings, will see his Pershing Square hedge fund then retain about a 10 percent stake.
BK will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the name Burger King Worldwide, with current management remaining in its place.
Word of an IPO comes as BK recently slipped one spot in U.S. burger sales to third place, ceding its position to venerable square-patty slinger Wendy's (NYSE: WEN) last year. McDonald's retained a comfortable lead.
The WSJ pointed out BK began phasing-out its king mascot as it wasn't resonating well with its target demographic: males in their 20s. With the recession hitting that particular market hard, BK is now focused in a different direction.
BK will likely focus its efforts on overall menu development as well as making a bigger splash in emerging markets. Whether or not BK will need to adjust its name to "Burger Maharaja" or "Burger Emperor" in India and China is anyone's guess.
It's hard to quantify the mass hysteria surrounding a potential BK IPO, but some have put it on the same level of Annie's (NYSE: BNNY) and Facebook (Nasdaq: FB)(NYSE: FB).
The WSJ tracks the re-listing as such: Investment vehicle Justice Holdings paid $1.4 billion to 3G Capital for a 29 percent stake in BK. Justice Holdings will than cease to be listed as a public company. 3G will remain BK's largest shareholder following a re-listing, with a 71 percent stake. William Ackman, who co-owns a portion of Justice Holdings, will see his Pershing Square hedge fund then retain about a 10 percent stake.
BK will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the name Burger King Worldwide, with current management remaining in its place.
Word of an IPO comes as BK recently slipped one spot in U.S. burger sales to third place, ceding its position to venerable square-patty slinger Wendy's (NYSE: WEN) last year. McDonald's retained a comfortable lead.
The WSJ pointed out BK began phasing-out its king mascot as it wasn't resonating well with its target demographic: males in their 20s. With the recession hitting that particular market hard, BK is now focused in a different direction.
BK will likely focus its efforts on overall menu development as well as making a bigger splash in emerging markets. Whether or not BK will need to adjust its name to "Burger Maharaja" or "Burger Emperor" in India and China is anyone's guess.
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