Burger King´s business dates back more than a half-century, having been founded in 1954 when James McLamore and David Edgerton opened the first Burger King restaurant in Miami, Florida. The Whopper® sandwich was introduced in 1957 and became an instant success, leading the founders to develop the "Burger King, HOME OF THE WHOPPER®" campaign in 1958. In 1961, McLamore and Edgerton acquired national and international franchising rights for the Burger King brand, which was followed by the Company´s first foray into international markets with the opening of two restaurants in Puerto Rico in 1963.
In 1967, the Pillsbury Company acquired Burger King Corporation, which became a fully owned subsidiary. James McLamore joined the board of directors of Pillsbury and continued be involved with Burger King until his retirement. At the time of the acquisition, the Burger King system was comprised of 274 restaurants with 8,000 employees in the U.S.A. and abroad.
The 1970´s were marked by a number of important milestones, including the debut of the "HAVE IT YOUR WAY®" campaign in 1974, BKW´s first European store opening in Madrid, Spain in 1975, and the introduction of Drive-thru service in the U.S.
A number of important menu innovations were introduced in the 1980´s, including the debut of breakfast with the CROISSAN´WICH® in 1985 and CHICKEN TENDERS® in 1986. 1986 was a record year for the system, with 546 new restaurants opened worldwide, bringing the system to 4,743 restaurants and $4.5 billion in system-wide sales, including 402 international restaurants in 25 countries.
In 1988, Grand Metropolitan PLC acquired the Pillsbury Company and its subsidiaries, including Burger King, for $5.8 billion. Following the acquisition there was a renewed focus on international growth which drove numerous new country entries throughout the 1990s. Key new market entries included: East Germany, Poland, Saudi Arabia, El Salvador, Peru, Israel, the Dominican Republic, New Zealand, Paraguay, Turkey, Bolivia, and Italy.
In 1997, Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness to create Diageo Plc. The new Diageo Plc decided to focus on the spirits and liquor business and subsequently embarked on a disposal initiative that included the Pillsbury food division and ultimately Burger King, which was sold to private equity firms Texas Pacific Group, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners in 2002.
In 2006, Burger King Holdings completed a successful initial public offering, and listed its stock on the New York Stock Exchange. On October 19, 2010, 3G Capital, acquired Burger King Holdings. As a result of the acquisition by 3G, we became a privately-held company once again.
In April 2012, Burger King Worldwide Holdings, Inc. and Justice Holdings Limited ("Justice") (LSE:JUSH), a publicly-listed UK investment company, entered into a definitive business combination agreement to list Burger King on the New York Stock Exchange upon completion of the transaction. Shares were listed and began trading on June 20, 2012 under the ticker NYSE:BKW. 3G Capital retains roughly 70% ownership of the company.