Burger King wants to swallow the Canadian giant Tim Hortons – Le Figaro

Burger King wants to swallow the Canadian giant Tim Hortons – Le Figaro

The world No. 2 burger is about to merge with Tim Hortons, a huge specialty coffee and donuts chain. With this operation, the American could be domiciled in Canada … and so pay less tax.

Burger King no longer satisfied with its only whopper. American hamburger chain confirmed Monday its proposed acquisition of Canadian Tim Hortons sign cafeterias. If the name is almost unknown in France, Tim Hortons is the market leader with more than 3,500 restaurants in Canada, over 850 in the United States and fifty in the Middle East. The brand is named after its founder, a baseball player who has embarked on coffee 50 years ago. In exchange, the prey weighs almost as heavy as the purchaser (9.15 billion dollars of capitalization for Tim Hortons against $ 9.55 billion for Burger King Worldwide.)

Tim Hortons has 4,500 outlets. Credit: P. Jones / Reuters Photo credits: PETER JONES / REUTERS

After a merger being negotiated, the new entity would retain both brands and count 18,000 restaurants. However, there remains a far cry from two world leaders in fast food such as McDonald’s (35,000 restaurants and $ 28 billion in revenue) and Subway (32,700 addresses and $ 16 billion in revenue.)

Much more than afford to vary the menu, this merger would especially the advantage of paying less tax. The new entity would settle in Canada where the tax climate is more pleasant. A “tax reversal” strategy that has developed in recent times in the United States as to be strongly condemned by President Barack Obama. In June, this is how the American medical device manufacturer Medtronic, which announced the acquisition of its competitor Covidien for $ 42.9 billion, with the key to a relocation of the headquarters in Ireland and a great tax benefit.

If the operation goes ahead, the investment fund 3G Capital, based in New York but originally from Brazil, the current majority shareholder of Burger King, would retain control of the new entity. Both chains retain their own identity, but could “benefit from the sharing of their corporate services” say the two companies. Incidentally, this merger could help raise more international Tim Hortons to try to become a real competitor to Starbucks.