Goldman, Credit Suisse Buy Stake in Turkish Burger King Operator

(Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Credit Suisse Group AG and the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development invested $150 million in the Turkish company that controls the biggest international Burger King franchise.

The trio of investors bought in new shares in restaurant operator and food producer TFI TAB Gida Yatirimlari AS, the company's Chief Financial Officer Ekrem Ozer said in an interview. The company will invest the proceeds into new restaurants, it said in a statement Monday.

The investors may also be involved in an initial public offering in the next couple of years, said Korhan Kurdoglu, president of TFI TAB Gida, in the statement. The company had previously planned to sell shares to the public as early as 2013, its chief executive officer said in a 2012 interview.

TFI TAB Gida plans to invest $800 million in the next three years as it aims to double its restaurants to 3,000 locations, according to a report in the Dunya newspaper, citing Chairman Erhan Kurdoglu and other executives. Revenue from the Chinese business will double to $400 million this year as the company targets 30 percent annual growth overall, the newspaper said.

TFI TAB Gida operates outlets for brands including Burger King, Popeyes, Sbarro and Arby's in Turkey, China and other countries, the company said on its website. These brands are among the international fast-food companies that have expanded into the country of 79 million people in recent years.

The EBRD's investment will account for $50 million of the total, the buyout firm said in a separate statement Monday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ercan Ersoy in Istanbul at eersoy@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Amy Thomson, Paul Jarvis