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.
© Provided by The Canadian Press
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.
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.
Burger King says Russia franchisee 'refused' to shutter restaurants
By Hilary Russ 
© Reuters/MAXIM ZMEYEV FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO:
Women walk outside a Burger King restaurant in Moscow
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Burger King's parent company said on Thursday it has not been able to close its 800 restaurants in Russia because its independent operator there "refused" to do so.
Restaurant Brands International Inc said that to enforce its contracts with the franchisee, Alexander Kolobov, it would need the help of the Russian government, but "we know that will not practically happen anytime soon," according to a letter to employees from David Shear, president, international, of the company.
It was not immediately clear how to reach Kolobov for comment.
Shear's long letter highlights the many complications bedeviling some American fast-food brands as they try to halt operations in Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
It also exposes what can become a point of weakness in international franchising, which is how most American restaurant brands expand overseas: the relationships with their independent operators.
On March 8, Starbucks Corp and a wave of other companies followed McDonald's Corp in saying they would suspend or limit operations in Russia.
Like Burger King, Starbucks does not own or operate its more than 100 cafes there.
But unlike Burger King, it had a willing partner - Kuwait-based Alshaya Group - that immediately agreed to shut its Starbucks' locations in Russia and support its 2,000 employees.
Restaurant Brands entered Russia a decade ago through a joint venture partnership with three entities: Kolobov, who controls day-to-day operations, private equity and asset management firm Investment Capital Ukraine, and Russia's state-owned VTB Bank, which has been hit by Western sanctions.
Restaurant Brands has started the process to dispose of its 15% ownership stake in the joint venture. It wants to do so immediately, Shear said, but it will take "some time" based on the terms of the agreement.
There are "no legal clauses that allow us to unilaterally change the contract or allow any one of the partners to simply walk away or overturn the entire agreement," Shear wrote.
"Would we like to suspend all Burger King operations immediately in Russia? Yes. Are we able to enforce a suspension of operations today?" he wrote. "No."
(Reporting by Hilary Russ in New York; Additional reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath, Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Burger King's parent company said on Thursday it has not been able to close its 800 restaurants in Russia because its independent operator there "refused" to do so.
Restaurant Brands International Inc said that to enforce its contracts with the franchisee, Alexander Kolobov, it would need the help of the Russian government, but "we know that will not practically happen anytime soon," according to a letter to employees from David Shear, president, international, of the company.
It was not immediately clear how to reach Kolobov for comment.
Shear's long letter highlights the many complications bedeviling some American fast-food brands as they try to halt operations in Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
It also exposes what can become a point of weakness in international franchising, which is how most American restaurant brands expand overseas: the relationships with their independent operators.
On March 8, Starbucks Corp and a wave of other companies followed McDonald's Corp in saying they would suspend or limit operations in Russia.
Like Burger King, Starbucks does not own or operate its more than 100 cafes there.
But unlike Burger King, it had a willing partner - Kuwait-based Alshaya Group - that immediately agreed to shut its Starbucks' locations in Russia and support its 2,000 employees.
Restaurant Brands entered Russia a decade ago through a joint venture partnership with three entities: Kolobov, who controls day-to-day operations, private equity and asset management firm Investment Capital Ukraine, and Russia's state-owned VTB Bank, which has been hit by Western sanctions.
Restaurant Brands has started the process to dispose of its 15% ownership stake in the joint venture. It wants to do so immediately, Shear said, but it will take "some time" based on the terms of the agreement.
There are "no legal clauses that allow us to unilaterally change the contract or allow any one of the partners to simply walk away or overturn the entire agreement," Shear wrote.
"Would we like to suspend all Burger King operations immediately in Russia? Yes. Are we able to enforce a suspension of operations today?" he wrote. "No."
(Reporting by Hilary Russ in New York; Additional reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath, Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)
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