Burger King Worldwide Holdings Inc., the fast-food chain that will go public again after merging with a company owned by William Ackman, has formed a joint venture to open 1,000 stores in China.
The agreement with the Kurdoglu family and private-equity firm Cartesian Capital Group LLC to open the restaurants in the next five to seven years is Burger King’s largest development deal, the Miami-based company said in a statement today. The joint venture will have the exclusive right to open stores in China, where Burger King has 63 locations.
The Whopper seller will face Yum! Brands Inc.’s 4,600 KFC and Pizza Hut locations in China, as well as competition from McDonald’s Corp. In April, Burger King said its owner, 3G Capital Inc., will get $1.4 billion to transfer the chain to Justice Holdings Ltd., a special-purpose acquisition company founded by Ackman.
The Kurdoglu family operates Burger King’s largest international franchisee, TAB Gida Industry & Trade Co., which has more than 450 stores in Turkey. Cartesian Capital is based in New York.
Burger King has more than 12,500 restaurants worldwide, of which about 90 percent are franchised.
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