By Ben Glickman


Shares of Carrols Restaurant Group shot up Tuesday after Burger King-owner Restaurant Brands International said it would acquire the company.

The stock was up 13% to $9.50 in pre-market trading. Shares have increased fourfold in the last year.

RBI said it would pay $9.55 per share for Carrols, giving the company an enterprise value of about $1 billion.

Carrols is the largest Burger King franchisee in the U.S., operating over 1,000 locations. The company also owns and manages 60 Popeyes restaurants.

RBI said the purchase price represented a 13.4% premium on Carrols' Jan. 12 closing price, and a 23% premium on the stock's 30-day volume weighted average price as of Jan. 12.

Carrols' Burger King restaurants generated about $1.8 billion in system sales in the year ended Sept. 30.

Restaurant Brands shares were down 1.1% to $77.58 in pre-market trading.


Write to Ben Glickman at ben.glickman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-16-24 0814ET