Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen has joined Canadian brand Tim Hortons and fast-food giant Burger King as the newest quick service chain to be acquired by Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI).
The southern-fried chicken restaurant, founded in Atlanta, GA in 1972, opened its first Alberta location in November 2016 and has more than a 100 stores across Canada. RBI pruchased Popeyes for $1.8 billion, or $79.00 per share.
Multinational restaurant owner RBI reportedly dedicates itself to growing its brands on a global scale. Restaurant Brands announced plans just last year to expand Tim Hortons into Southeast Asia – namely, the Philippines. Expansion is now on the horizon for Popeyes as well.
“As Popeyes becomes part of the RBI family we believe we can deliver growth and opportunities for all of our stakeholders including our valued employees and franchisees,” said Daniel Schwartz, chief executive officer of Restaurant Brands Inc. “We look forward to taking an already very strong brand and accelerating its pace of growth and opening new restaurants in the U.S. and around the world."
RBI owns more than 20,000 restaurants around the world, according to a recent statement. Following customary closing conditions of the sale, Popeyes will join their existing portfolio while continuing to manage independently in the U.S. In a press release from RBI, the company says Popeyes will “[benefit] from the global scale and resources of RBI.”
Popeyes currently has over 2,600 resturants across the U.S. and 25 other countries.
