Burger King Back to NYSE (BKW, MCD, YUM)

After a couple of years as a privately held company, Burger King Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: BKW) will trade publicly again, beginning today on the New York Stock Exchange. There is no IPO, however, and only 16% of Burger King’s shares will be available to the public at all.

The investment firm that owns Burger King, 3G Capital, sold a minority stake in the company to London-listed Justice Holdings for $1.4 billion in April. 3G Capital retained a 71% stake in Burger King. As part of the deal, Justice Holdings suspended trading in London and re-emerges today as Burger King Worldwide Inc. on the NYSE.

Burger King claims only about a third as many stores worldwide — 12,500 — as McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) and has plans to open as many as 1,000 new stores in China over the next several years, where Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) claims leadership.

Burger King also expects to open hundreds of new stores in Russia in the next few years. The company’s recent expansion stores have been heavily concentrated in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Paul Ausick