A big whopper: Burger King mulls sale
TEXT OF STORY
BILL RADKE: Last month was the biggest August in a decade
for Mergers and Aquisitions. And as we start September, we’re getting news of another potential whopper of an acquisition. Marketplace’s Jeremy Hobson joins us live with more. Hi Jeremy.
JEREMY HOBSON: Good morning, Bill.
RADKE: Who it is this time?
HOBSON: Well at the risk of making you hungry, it’s Burger King. The company has been a public company since 2006. But there are reports this morning that it’s considering a sale and has held talks with potential buyers. Now, Burger King recently forecast a tough fiscal year ahead. And analysts say that’s one reason why it’s an attractive target for private equity firms — it’s cheaper now than it would otherwise be.
RADKE: Let me grill you thusly, Jeremy, would going public help or hurt Burger King?
HOBSON: Well, Bill, I spoke with analyst named Tom Forte, who covers burger king for Tesley Advisory Group. And he said it would be a good thing for Burger King to go private because it could focus on fine-tuning its business without worrying about Wall Street.
TOM FORTE: So, oftentimes, this allows companies to perhaps think longer term, rather than worrying about meeting the earnings estimates of the next quarter.
And for Burger King, he says that would mean more time to roll out some new products that use a new broiler it’s been installing in its restaurants. He says its going to be quite a feat to attract customers without the company’s dollar double cheeseburger promotion, which I know you love Bill.
RADKE: Yes. What will they do? Markeplace’s Jeremy Hobson, thanks a lot.
HOBSON: Thanks Bill.
Stories You Might Like
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
