Burger King India Operator Restaurant Brands Asia Opens QIP, Fixes Floor Price

Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd. announced the launch of its qualified institutional placement on Monday, three months after it received the board of directors' nod to raise funds of up to Rs 500 crore through the issuance of multiple securities.

The floor price for the Tim Hortons, Burger King and Popeyes operator's QIP has been fixed at Rs 62.32 per share, which is around 3.2% lower than the stock's closing price of Rs 64.41.

Promoters of the company are offloading up to 8.33 crore shares, or 16.7% of pre-issue outstanding equity capital at the upper end of the offer, with a lock-in period of 60 days, said people familiar with the matter.

The settlement date, or the day that shares will be credited to the shareholders, is expected to be March 27, and shares will commence trading on the bourses on April 01.

Net proceeds from the fundraiser are expected to be for prepayment of debt and capital expenditure.

Motilal Oswal is the sole book-running lead manager of the QIP.

The fast-food companies' operator may offer a discount of not more than 5% on the floor price calculated for the QIP, according to the filing.

Recently, the National Restaurant Association of India had indicated plans to pursue legal action against Zomato and Swiggy, alleging attempts to monopolise the food delivery market.

The move comes in response to the quick-commerce companies' foray into 10-minute delivery through separate apps like Blinkit Bistro and Swiggy Snacc, which marks a shift from their roles as marketplace platforms to direct sellers.

Meanwhile, Restaurant Brands' franchisee Burger King was also involved in an eponymous dispute with a local Pune burger joint, adding another layer of complications for the fast food chain.

A Pune court had previously dismissed Burger King's claim, noting that the local joint had been using the "Burger King" name since the early 1990s—years before Burger King’s trademark registration for restaurant services in India, in 2006.

Shares of RBA closed 0.64% higher at Rs 64.41 apiece on the National Stock Exchange, underperforming the benchmark Nifty, which closed 1.32% higher. The share price has fallen 36.88% in the last 12 months, but dipped 24.23% on a year-to-date basis.

Six out of the 12 analysts tracking the company have a 'buy' rating on the stock, four recommend 'hold' and two suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analysts' price target implies a potential upside of 40.6%.