Hungry US predator set to swallow up home of the Whopper Burger King

By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 11:51 AM on 2nd September 2010

Home of the Whopper Burger King looks set to be swallowed up by a hungry US predator, according to reports.
A small US buyout firm 3G Capital is said to be circling the fast-food chain, which has been struggling in the shadow of rival McDonald's.
The familiar presence on the UK high street is currently owned by a Miami-based parent company, whose shares in New York soared 15% yesterday on the speculation.

Hard to swallow: Burger King has faced difficulties in the wake of the economic slowdown

Other reports have said British private equity firm 3i Burger King wanted to take Burger King from the spiritual home of the oversized hamburger, but 3i has denied it is interested.
The world's second-largest burger chain has struggled in the wake of the credit crunch and has been consistently outperformed by McDonald's. Burger King has seen its share price fall 13% over the last year, whereas McDonald's shares have gained 17%. 
 

News of the negotiations with 3G Capital was first reported by the New York Times, but the company declined to comment on the reports. Buyout firms have recently done a series of deals in the restaurant industry and Burger King was an obvious target, said analysts.
In New York last night, Burger King shares closed 15% higher on the back of the speculation.
'While we would not consider a transaction a foregone conclusion, we see several factors that make a buyout plausible,' RW Baird analyst David Tarantino commented.
Burger King last week admitted it was worried about how it would cope with future rises in the cost of beef.
British drinks group Diageo sold Burger King to a consortium of private equity firms for $1.5bn in 2002.
The 56-year-old company is now valued at more than $2.2bn (£1.4bn) and has been a public company since 2006. It has more than 500 outlets in the UK and more than 12,000 globally.

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