Affinity revives sale of Burger King Korea operator

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Hong Kong-based Affinity Equity Partners has launched a sale process for BKR, the Korean operator of Burger King and Tim Hortons, reviving a divestment plan that was shelved four years ago, industry sources said Tuesday.

According to the sources, the private equity firm has hired Deutsche Bank to explore a sale of its entire stake in BKR, which operates about 550 Burger King stores and 25 Tim Hortons locations in Korea.

"The firm is considering a sale and evaluating various options, but no decisions have been finalized," Affinity said.

The renewed sale effort follows an unsuccessful attempt in 2021 to sell the Korean and Japanese Burger King businesses as a package. Affinity bought Burger King Korea from VIG Partners for 210 billion won ($139 million) in 2016, then expanded into Japan the following year through a master franchise agreement with Restaurant Brands International.

Affinity completed the sale of Burger King Japan to Goldman Sachs Alternatives in February for 78.5 billion yen, or about $490 million. Under Affinity's ownership, the Japan business grew from eight stores to more than 337 locations. The deal valued the business at roughly 20 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

BKR generated revenue of 892.2 billion won in 2025, up 12.6 percent from a year earlier, with EBITDA exceeding 100 billion won. Given a typical EBITDA multiple of about 10 for food franchise businesses, estimates suggest the business could command an enterprise value of up to 1 trillion won.

minmin@heraldcorp.com