Diageo 'seeking more than stg£1.4bn for Burger King'

Diageo PLC is seeking bids of more than stg£1.4bn for Burger King by the end of next week, sources say.

Likely bidders include buyout firms Blackstone Group LP, Texas Pacific Group and Thomas H Lee Partners LP.

Diageo, the world's largest liquor company, has long planned to unload Burger King in a sale or spin-off.

The move is part of its strategy to concentrate on Diageo's much more profitable business of making and selling alcoholic beverages.

The company's best-known brands include Smirnoff vodka, Johnnie Walker scotch and Guinness beers.

Isabelle Thomas, a Diageo spokeswoman, declined to comment on any aspect of the sale process. A Burger King spokesman referred all comments to Diageo.

Burger King's franchise owners have supported splitting off from Diageo, complaining of slim profit margins on flat domestic sales and ineffective marketing.

But they have pressured management to take the business private rather than put it under Wall Street's microscope.

A year ago, chief executive John Dasburg said America's second-largest fast-food chain had talked with a leveraged buyout firm, but no deal was ever announced.

A spokeswoman at Burger King's Miami headquarters referred requests for comment to Diageo's London offices.