Burger King’s parent company is expanding their fast food empire by acquiring fast-food fried chicken chain Popeyes for $1.8 billion.
Restaurant Brands International announced on Tuesday that the corporation has agreed to buy Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen for $79 per share.
Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King and Tim Hortons, will acquire the fast-growing fried chicken chain, which has over 2,600 chains across the country.
Restaurant Brands explains that they will “continue developing the brand at an increasing pace” in the United States and across the country.
In a conference call, Restaurant Brands CEO Daniel Schwartz explained: “The key to long-term success at Popeyes will be a focus on guest satisfaction and franchise profitability.” Schwartz added, “The team has done a great job setting the foundation for future growth.”
Schwartz revealed the average Popeyes store has $1.4 million in annual revenue. Also, each business owner under the Popeyes franchise earned on average $340,000 per location in 2015, which is nearly double from 2008’s $188,000.
Shares of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (PLKI) rose by 19.18% up to 78.80 by afternoon trading.
Based out of Atlanta, Georgia Al Copeland founded the company in 1972 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The fast-food restaurant is now located in 30 countries around the world including Germany, Saudi Arabia, Jamaica, and Iraq. As of January 2014, Popeyes had over 2,500 restaurants around the world.
Last January, McDonald’s, a competitor to Restaurant Brands’ Burger King,  announced a plan to expand in China. McDonald’s gave up their majority share of their company to a Chinese financial company to grow in the country. The deal was worth approximately $2 billion and would allow for the fast-food giant to develop and build 1,500 stores in China over the next few years. The company cited the country represents an “enormous growth opportunity for McDonald’s.”
Now it looks like Restaurant Brands may be following in McDonald’s footsteps with their Popeyes new acquisition.