By Ben Glickman


Burker King-owner Restaurant Brands International will acquire Carrols Restaurant Group for about $1 billion in cash.

Toronto-based RBI said it would pay $9.55 per share for Carrols, the largest Burger King franchisee in the U.S.

Carrols operates over 1,000 Burger King restaurants and owns and operates 60 Popeyes restaurants.

RBI said plans to "significantly accelerate Carrols' current rate of remodels" over the next five years, investing about $500 million in capital from Carrols' operating cash flow to remodel about 600 restaurants.

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

The deal will be financed with cash on hand and is expected to be completed in the second quarter.

RBI expects the acquisition to be neutral to adjusted earnings per share, while net leverage will increase minimally.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-16-24 0733ET