TFI TAB Food Investments, the exclusive operator of Burger King in the Turkish and Chinese markets, has withdrawn its expected US$220 million IPO in the US. Citing market volatility, TFI TAB withdrew the filing nine months after postponing the Burger King IPO following instabilities in Wall Street trading. The filing had already been scaled back from an initial ask of $400 million, offering 22 million shares for between $9–11. Plans were to use raised funds to pay off debts and for general business purposes.
The Istanbul-based firm is the world’s largest Burger King franchise, operating 1822 locations – of which 766 are within China.
According to the firm, “moving into China was bold. We entered this huge and vastly different market later than our competitors. We and our partners invested significant upfront capital as we signed on as the exclusive master franchisee and developer for Burger King in China.”
In a statement on the withdrawal the company said it would continue to evaluate the timing for a Burger king IPO “as market conditions develop”.