Restaurant Brands International this week completed the sale of a majority stake in its China business to CPE in the hopes of igniting growth in a key global market.
CPE, an Asian asset manager, will invest $350 million into the joint venture and will own 83% of the business, while RBI, the parent company of Burger King, will own the remaining 17%, creating a joint-venture partnership.
Their goal, of course, is growth. Burger King last year bought the struggling business from TFI Asia Holdings for $158 million, determined to turn the business around. The groups said on Monday that they plan to take the number of restaurants in China from 1,250 today to more than 4,000 by 2035.
That the valuation more than doubled in just one year suggests the brand’s performance has turned around quickly in a short time. Burger King’s same-store sales grew 10.5% in the third quarter after struggling for most of 2024.
Burger King has long been eager to find a fix in China, where it has underperformed other major brands. The company has a much smaller presence there than, say, McDonald’s, which has about 7,000 restaurants there. Market leader KFC has more than 12,000 restaurants in the fast-growing country.
That’s a sore spot for Restaurant Brands International, which has staked its growth on international expansion. The company’s brands have generally thrived outside the U.S., with China the exception.
The company bought back the market—shortly after acquiring Popeyes in China from an operator there—to right the ship quickly and create a joint venture.
“China remains one of the most important long-term opportunities for the Burger King brand globally,” RBI CEO Josh Kobza said in a statement.
RBI is hardly the only U.S. brand that has played ownership roulette with its Chinese operations. Starbucks late last year agreed to sell a majority stake in its China business to Boyu Capital and, like RBI, will keep a stake in the business, in that case 40%. McDonald’s China has had various owners and investors over the years. Most recently, the fast-food giant bought out the private-equity firm Carlyle.
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