Burger King parent company to buy out largest franchisee to modernize stores

Burger King's parent company is about to "have it their way" at more locations.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. announced Tuesday that it would purchase the issued and outstanding shares of Burger King franchisee Carrols Restaurant Group Inc. for $9.55 per share at a value of approximately $1 billion.

Carrols is the largest Burger King franchisee in the country, operating 1,022 Burger King restaurants in 23 states and 60 Popeyes locations.

Restaurant Brands said that it will invest $500 million to renovate approximately 600 restaurants that were acquired in the transaction.

"We are going to rapidly remodel these restaurants over the next five years or so and put them back into the hands of motivated, local franchisees," Tom Curtis, president of Burger King U.S. and Canada, said in the statement announcing the deal.

Purchase part of modernization

The transaction is a part of Restaurant Brands' effort to modernize Burger King locations. The company originally announced the "Reclaim the Flame" plan in 2022 and said it would invest $400 million in restaurant improvements over two years.

"We need pretty much every Burger King all across the country to be modern, convenient and competitive with all of the other concepts out there that have new and modern buildings,” Restaurant Brands CEO Joshua Kobza said during a conference call with investors in August, according to the Associated Press.

In the announcement Restaurant Brands, which owns the Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs brands, said it would keep "a couple of hundred restaurants for strategic innovation, training, and operator development purposes."

The deal includes a 30-day "go shop" period for Carrol's to solicit other offers.