Burger King plans to file for initial public offering

MIAMI (AP) _ Burger King's parent company said Wednesday that it plans to sell shares to the public for the first time in the fast-food chain's 52-year history, part of its attempt to recoup ground

Wednesday, February 1st 2006, 8:39 am

By: News On 6

MIAMI (AP) _ Burger King's parent company said Wednesday that it plans to sell shares to the public for the first time in the fast-food chain's 52-year history, part of its attempt to recoup ground lost in fierce competition with rivals McDonald's Corp. and Wendy's International Inc.

Burger King Holdings Inc. plans to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering in late February or early March, Chairman and CEO Greg Brenneman said in a long anticipated announcement.

``Our goal has always been to take Burger King public,'' he said in a statement. ``We believe the transparency and stability in ownership offered by being a public company will benefit our employees and franchisees for years to come.''

The company declined further comment citing U.S. securities law. Owen Blicksilver, a spokesman for the three private equity firms that own the chain, also declined comment.

Of the top three burger chains, only Burger King has never reaped the benefits of being a publicly traded company on its own. Burger King was long the second-largest hamburger chain behind No. 1 McDonald's, but it fell into a tie for No. 2 with Wendy's in 2004, according to research firm Technomic Inc.

The equity firms _ Texas Pacific Group, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners _ bought Burger King in 2002 for $1.5 billion with hopes of ending a period of slumping sales. The price was reduced from the initially agreed $2.26 billion because of Burger King's troubles.

They appointed new leadership, but the sales declines continued initially. Burger King doesn't report exact sales figures, but Technomic estimated that its U.S. sales were $7.7 billion in 2004, down more than 2 percent from $7.9 billion in 2003.

Brenneman was brought in to revitalize the chain in August 2004, becoming the company's 10th CEO in 15 years. The turnaround specialist was known for helping lead Continental Airlines Inc. out of bankruptcy and into profitability.

Under Brenneman, the company launched several new products that were popular and an aggressive advertising campaign targeting its ``Superfans,'' young men who eat frequently at the chain. He credited that and an increasing focus on customer satisfaction as the reason that same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, finally grew.

Despite reports that sales fell in June and July 2005, the company said this month that it has registered seven consecutive quarters of same-store sales increases. Same-store sales in the second fiscal quarter were 2.3 percent higher than the year before, the company said.

The sales growth was welcome news for independent franchisees, who own about 90 percent of Burger King's more than 11,000 restaurants. Several large franchisees filed for bankruptcy over the past decade, burdened with debt.

An IPO should help Burger King continue the growth, said Alan Vituli, chief executive of Carrols Corp. of Syracuse, N.Y., the chain's biggest franchisee with 340 restaurants.

``I think it'll be terrific for the brand. It'll give it a great capital structure,'' Vituli said. But he acknowledged that ``winning back share of market is a long, slow climb.''

Burger King's relationship with some of its franchisees has soured in recent months. The chain cut its ties in October with the National Franchisee Association. The disputes have reportedly been about what some restaurant owners say is Burger King's attempts to exert too much control over them. The company says it is only trying to do what is best for the brand.

The two sides have been in talks since then to patch things up, but the franchisee association's board resigned in protest last month. Leaked letters between the two sides have shown that the arguments have been testy.

``Of the three brands, Burger Kings notoriously has the most strained relationship with its franchisee community in part because of who's owned the brand,'' Vituli said.

British liquor conglomerate Diageo PLC sold the chain to its current owners to focus on its core business. The move was welcomed by franchisees, who felt Burger King got lost in Diageo's large portfolio. Burger King has been owned by other companies since 1967, when Pillsbury Co. bought it.

Burger King was started in 1954 with one restaurant in Miami. Co-founders James McLamore and David Edgerton opened several more restaurants in the Miami area, but they struggled until the launch of the Whopper sandwich, McLamore wrote in a book about the chain.