Burger King (NYSE: BKC), often abbreviated to BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. The first restaurant was opened in Miami, Florida in 1954 by James McLamore and David Edgerton, and has since used several variations of franchising to expand its operations. Burger King Holdings is the parent company of Burger King; in the United States it operates under the Burger King Brands title while internationally it operates under the Burger King Corporation banner. It is a publicly traded company with investment firms of TPG Capital, L.P., Bain Capital, and Goldman Sachs each owning about 25% of the company.
At the end of its fiscal year 2007, Burger King reported that there are more than 11,300 outlets in 69 countries; 66% are in the United States and 90% are privately owned and operated. The company has more than 37,000 employees serving approximately 11.4 million customers daily. In North America, franchises are licensed on a per store basis, while in several international locations licenses are sold on a regional basis with franchises owning exclusive development rights for the region or country. These regional franchises are known as master franchises, and are responsible for opening new restaurants, licensing new third party operators, and performing standards oversight of all restaurant locations in these countries. The largest example of a master franchise is Hungry Jack's, which exclusively owns, operates or sub-licenses over 300 restaurants in Australia.
As with other multi-national corporations, Burger King has been involved in several legal disputes and cases, as both plaintiff and defendant, in the years since its founding in 1954. Situations involving a myriad of legal topics have affected all aspects of the company's operations. Depending upon its ownership and executive staff at the time, its responses to these challenges have ranged from a conciliatory dialog with its critics to a more aggressive opposition with questionable tactics and negative consequences. How the company responded to these various issues has drawn praise, scorn, and accusations of political appeasement.
