Tim Hortons shareholders approve Burger King deal

Stockholders in Canada’s emblematic Tim Hortons coffee-and-donut chain have voted their shares in favour of U.S. fast-food chain Burger King’s marriage proposal.

A special THI shareholders’ meeting held Tuesday at the company’s Oakville, Ont. headquarters saw the proposal receive about 99.2 per cent approval in votes cast.

The two firms announced Tuesday their combined new company, to be based in Oakville, will be named “Restaurant Brands International,” with common shares trading on the TSX and NYSE under the ticker symbol “QSR.”

The US$15.5 billion deal is now expected to close Friday, following a hearing booked Thursday at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for the final order to approve the deal.

Other Canadian federal authorities have already signed off on the deal, including Industry Minister James Moore last week and the Competition Bureau in October.

Shareholders in the two companies had until late Tuesday afternoon to pick one of several options available in exchange for their BKW and THI shares.

In a separate release Wednesday, the RBI partners reported the holders of about 76 per cent of shares in Miami-based Burger King Worldwide will get exchangeable units in the new RBI limited partnership for their shares. Holders of about 72 per cent of Tim Hortons shares elected to get QSR common shares.

Holders of about 26 per cent of Tim Hortons shares elected to get, or will get by default, a combination of cash and QSR common shares. Holders of the remaining two per cent of Tim Hortons shares elected to sell their shares for cash.

Holders of about 24 per cent of Burger King shares, meanwhile, elected to get, or did not elect but will get by default, 0.99 QSR common shares and 0.01 RBI partnership exchangeable units per Burger King share.

“Opportunities to accelerate”

“As part of Restaurant Brands International, Tim Hortons will remain an independent, iconic Canadian brand, but with significant opportunities to accelerate our brand development around the world,” Tim Hortons CEO Marc Caira said Tuesday.

The RBI name “conveys our mission to create the world’s leading global restaurant business through a strong commitment to our franchisees and a consistent focus on serving guests around the world,” BKW CEO Daniel Schwartz, the incoming CEO for Restaurant Brands International, said in the same release.

RBI’s two chains combined will include over 18,000 restaurants operating in 100 countries. Tim Hortons, which until this week has been the largest publicly-traded restaurant chain in Canada, by itself has 4,590 restaurants including 3,665 in Canada and 869 in the U.S. — AGCanada.com Network