Who owns Burger King?

Burger King is an American multinational chain of fast-food restaurants that is headquartered in Miami, Florida. The first Burger King restaurant, then known as Insta-Burger King, was opened in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1953 by Keith Cramer and his stepfather Matthew Burns. Burger King Worldwide merged with the Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons in 2014. This precipitated the formation of parent company Restaurant Brands International, which is part-owned by former Burger King owner 3G Capital.

Early inspiration

Cramer and Burns were inspired to open a store after visiting the first McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernadino, California.

In keeping with the idea of fast food, the pair purchased a cooking device known as the Insta-Broiler which became so successful that all future franchises were built around it.

By 1959, however, the company or its business model was less attractive and it was purchased by James McLamore and David R. Edgerton.

The pair, who were franchisees themselves, restructured the company and renamed it Burger King. It was also around this time that the signature Whopper burger was developed.

Over the next eight years, the pair expanded to over 250 locations across the United States.

Pillsbury Company acquisition

The Pillsbury Company acquired Burger King in 1967 for $18 million. With the necessary capital behind it, Burger King was able to grow into the second-largest chain in America behind McDonald’s.

In 1978, Burger King even went as far as poaching McDonald’s executive Donald N. Smith.

Smith’s most notable initiative was to restructure the company’s franchise system to prevent franchisees from owning stores in other chains.

Franchisees were also prevented from owning stores that were more than an hour’s drive from their homes.

This move encouraged loyalty, decreased absentee ownership, and enabled the company to streamline operations.

McDonald’s rivalry

Norman Brinker, who had also been recruited externally, instituted what would become known as the Burger Wars.

The company started to run commercials promoting Burger King burgers as bigger and better than those from McDonald’s.

Burger King also introduced children’s characters such as the Wizard of Fries and Sir Shake-a-Lot to counter the growing influence of Ronald McDonald.

When Burger King was taken over once more in 1989, the company shifted its soft drink allegiance from Pepsi to Coca-Cola and partnered with Disney to collaborate on film and character-based toys and other products.

The company’s headquarters was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, but a proactive response saw a quick reversal in Burger King’s fortunes.

Who owns Burger King today?

Burger King has been bought and sold several times over its history. After the Pillsbury Company acquisition, that company was acquired in 1989 by British conglomerate Grand Metropolitan.

When Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness PLC in 1997, it became known as Diageo PLC. Some questioned this particular acquisition because Diageo had mostly alcoholic brands under its umbrella and paid relatively little attention to its fast-food asset.

Five years later, in 2002, Diageo sold Burger King to a private equity financier consortium that included Bain Capital, Texas Pacific Group, and Goldman Sachs.

On September 1, 2010, investment firm 3G Capital purchased the company for $3.26 billion.

Burger King Worldwide then merged with the Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons in 2014 which precipitated the formation of parent company Restaurant Brands International.

However, as recently as late 2019, 3G Capital retained a 32% interest in the parent company and thus could be considered part owners of Burger King.

Key takeaways

Burger King is an American multinational chain of fast-food restaurants that is headquartered in Miami, Florida. The first Burger King restaurant, known as Insta-Burger King, was opened in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1953.
By 1959, the company or its business model was less attractive and it was purchased by James McLamore and David R. Edgerton. This started a series of acquisitions starting with the Pillsbury Company in 1967.
Burger King Worldwide then merged with the Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons in 2014. This precipitated the formation of parent company Restaurant Brands International, which is part-owned by former Burger King owner 3G Capital.