Takeover of Quick planned by French Burger King

The franchise holder for the Burger King brand in France has announced its intention to take over Quick, the Belgian hamburger restaurant chain. According to a statement issued on Monday, Groupe Bertrand, which holds the rights to Burger King in France, is in talks with the French investment group Qualium, on behalf of Quick.

The takeover would transform Quick restaurants in France into Burger Kings, but would not change the branches in Belgium and Luxembourg. Quick has 509 locations across Belgium. The merged company would become the second-biggest fast food chain in France after McDonald’s.

Quick was established in Belgium in 1970 and sold in 2007 to Qualium for €730 million. There  have been rumours of a possible takeover for about two years now, with a price tag mentioned of €800 million. No exact figure has been quoted for the deal currently under consideration. Qualium had a 2014 turnover of just over €1 billion.

The takeover agreement should be signed by the end of the year, both companies said. The deal would also require the approval of competition authorities.

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