Burger King Bought Out by Brazilian Company

Burger King Holdings Inc., the nation's perennially No. 2 hamburger chain, said Thursday that it is selling itself to little-known private equity firm 3G Capital in a deal valued at $3.26 billion. 3G Capital is largely owned by Jorge Paulo Lemann, a Brazilian business mogul. 3G has previously invested in Wendy's and Arby's.

Burger King, Wendy's, Arby's and McDonald's are prominent examples of the rapid globalization of the American fast food industry. While McDonald's is a US owned corporation, as an interesting side note: The soya that is fed to McDonald’s chickens is supplied by agricultural giant Cargill and comes directly from Brazil. Greenpeace alleges that not only is soya destroying the Amazon rain forest in Brazil, but soya farmers are guilty of further crimes including slavery and the invasion of indigenous peoples’ lands. The allegation is that McDonald's, as a client of Cargill's, is complicit in these activities.

Additionally, as I noted in an earlier blog, Swift & Co., one of the largest meatpacking companies in the nation, is owned by JBS USA, a Brazilian owned company.