TORONTO — Restaurant Brands International wants to sell its ownership stake in Burger King Russia after the business' main operator refused to suspend operations in the country.
David Shear, RBI's international president, said in an open letter to employeesreleased today that the company has started the process to dispose of the stake and would like to do so immediately, but it's taking time because of the joint venture agreement.
He says his company wants to back out of the venture because of the "horrifying" attacks Russia is staging on Ukraine, but there are no legal clauses that allow RBI to unilaterally change the Burger King Russia contract or allow it to walk away or overturn the agreement.
RBI owns a 15 per cent stake in the joint venture. The other parties, who also hold minority stakes, are Investment Capital Ukraine, VTB Capital — one of Russia's largest banks — and Alexander Kolobov, who oversees the 800 restaurants in Russia.
Shear says any attempt to exit the business would require the support of Russian authorities and that "no serious investor" would agree to a long-term business relationship with flimsy termination clauses.
RBI, which also owns Tim Hortons and Popeyes, has been facing pressure to depart the country after Russia invaded Ukraine and other international brands such as KFC, McDonald's and Starbucks backed away from operating in Russia.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2022.
Companies in this story: (TSX:QSR)
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