Paris / FR. (qi) Groupe Bertrand and Qualium Investissement announce that they have entered into exclusive negotiations for the acquisition by groupe Bertrand of «Quick» and its 509 restaurants. Groupe Bertrand is a French entrepreneurial, family-owned group, and one of the leading players in the restaurant sector in France. It is the controlling shareholder of Burger King France, a joint-venture operating the Burger King master franchise in France. The group resulting from this contemplated acquisition would become the second largest fast-food player in France.
In France, «Quick» restaurants would gradually be rebranded under the Burger King banner. The «Quick» brand would be maintained in Belgium, Luxembourg and outside of Europe.
The completion of the acquisition is subject to the consultation of the employee representative bodies and certain conditions, including amongst others, the approval of the proposed amendments to certain provisions of the existing notes, and the approval of the acquisition by the relevant competition authorities. The contemplated acquisition could close by the end of the year.
Olivier Bertrand, Chairman and founder of Groupe Bertrand, declared: «I am very enthusiastic about the prospect of this project to accelerate the development of Burger King in France and increase our growth ambitions. By capitalising on the talents of both the Burger King and «Quick» groups, we are convinced that we will design a new landscape for the fast food sector in France over the coming years. We have full confidence in Cédric Dugardin, his team and the franchisees to participate in this ambitious project».
«Qualium Investissement has supported «Quick» in the development of its network since 2007. The negotiations we have entered into with Groupe Bertrand should lead to a strong industrial project for the group, with real prospects to create a new leading player in the restaurant sector», said Jean Eichenlaub, Chairman of Qualium Investissement.
About Quick
Quick is a European fast food group operating mainly in France, Belgium and Luxembourg. As of 31 December 2014, 495 restaurants operated under the Quick brand, employing a total of 19’000 people. In 2014, the Quick Group generated system-wide sales of 1.029 billion EUR (Images: Quick).
