Burger King to buy franchisee Carrols Restaurants for a 13% premium

Burger King, which is owned by Restaurant Brands International Inc.
QSR,
+0.33%,
announced Tuesday an agreement to buy Burger King franchisee Carrols Restaurant Group Inc.
TAST,
+0.72%
in a deal valued at $1 billion. Under terms of the deal, Carrols shareholders will receive $9.55 in cash for each Carrols share they own, which represents a 13.4% premium over Friday’s closing price of $8.42. The stock was halted for news in the premarket until 7:30 a.m. Eastern, while Restaurant Brands shares were indicated down more than 1%. Carrols, which is the largest Burger King franchisee in the U.S., operates 1,022 Burger King restaurants in 23 states. “Burger King expects to significantly accelerate Carrols’ current rate of remodels to bring the acquired portfolio to modern image over the next five years,” Burger King said in a statement. Carrols shares have run up 49.8% over the past three months while Restaurant Brands’ stock has rallied 23.8% and the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.08%
has gained 9.4%.