Transactions

Liberty is pleased to announce that Restaurant Brands Iberia (‘RB Iberia’ or ‘the company’) has reached an agreement with Cinven to acquire a majority stake in RB Iberia.

RB Iberia’s founders and Burger King Europe GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International Inc., will continue to be minority shareholders of the company, and the incumbent executive management team will continue to lead the growth of the brands. Valued at more than €1bn, the investment represents the largest transaction in the Spanish restaurant industry to date.

RB Iberia is a leading Quick Service Restaurant (‘QSR’) platform in Iberia and the master franchisee for the Burger King brand in Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra, and for the Popeyes and Tim Hortons brands in Spain. The company has a large presence across Spain, including in key locations such as Madrid, Valencia, Catalonia, and Andalusia, with a portfolio of more than 500 of its own restaurants, and an additional c. 500 franchised restaurants across the three brands.

The business was founded in 1981 and, under the leadership of founder Gregorio Jiménez, has grown significantly in the last five years both organically and through acquisitions, more than tripling the number of owned Burger King restaurants. The company performed resiliently throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing to acquire and open restaurants, as well as continuing the roll-out of its successful home delivery service, with more than 5,000 delivery staff and c. 14,000 employees in total.

Spaniards’ growing appetite for restaurant meals and fast food, and the pandemic-induced boom in digital food delivery are favourable market trends able to shore up substantial growth for RB Iberia, the companies said.