Jiménez seeks partners for bid to take control of RBE

Gregorio Jiménez, chairman and second-largest shareholder of Restaurant Brands Europe (RBE), is in talks with the Galán and Costa Cerezuela families to form a consortium to bid for the group, which operates Burger King in Spain and Portugal and Popeyes in Spain and Italy. According to a report published by Expansión on 8 October, discussions are ongoing and success is not guaranteed.

A proposal to acquire a majority stake

The plan is to assemble a core group of investors that would acquire an expected 51% of RBE, with other participants taking the remaining 49%. Jiménez is seeking to build that majority alongside the family of Ignacio Sánchez Galán, chairman of Iberdrola, and the Costa Cerezuela family, which owns Costa Food Group.

The initiative would offer a new exit route for Cinven, which took control of the group in 2021. This is therefore not a completed sale or a change of ownership already in effect, but negotiations to structure a potential bid.

Potential minority investors include Peninsula Capital, the investment firm founded by Borja Prado, and Corporación Financiera Alba, the March family’s holding company. According to Expansión, Peninsula has reportedly shown interest, while meetings are said to have taken place with Alba. Mubadala has also reportedly expressed interest in taking a minority stake, after its attempt to acquire control fell through over the summer.

RBI’s consent is crucial

The potential deal would value RBE at between €2.1 billion and €2.5 billion, including debt, according to sources consulted by the business newspaper. The equity value would be around €1 billion. These are indicative figures under discussion, not the final price of an agreed transaction.

The talks follow an earlier sale process involving Cinven and Mubadala. The two parties had made progress towards an agreement valuing the company at more than €2.1 billion, but discussions stalled in July. Expansión attributes this outcome to opposition from Restaurant Brands International (RBI), Burger King’s parent company, to Mubadala taking control.

Although RBI holds a minority stake in RBE, its consent is required for a new majority shareholder to come on board. This approval right makes its position decisive for any alternative bid.

Significant issues also remain unresolved in the proposal Jiménez is seeking to lead. Exploratory talks with Cinven and RBI cover governance and future strategy, areas where substantial differences remain, according to the newspaper.

A network with 294 franchised restaurants

RBE’s scale and business model make these developments relevant to Spain’s franchising community. The group ended 2025 with 1,442 restaurants across Spain, Portugal and Italy: 1,148 company-operated and 294 franchised. These figures cover all three countries, not Spain alone.

Sales, including those of franchised outlets, exceed €2 billion. Adjusted pro forma earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) are above €300 million, according to the figures reported by Expansión.

The group therefore combines directly operated restaurants with a franchise network. The potential arrival of new shareholders would affect RBE’s ownership, but the published information does not announce changes to franchise agreements or new terms for joining its brands. Nor does it provide grounds to link these negotiations to specific restaurant openings or closures.

What franchisees should watch

The next milestones will be any formal bid, the make-up of the buying consortium and RBI’s consent. It will also be important to see whether the parties reach agreement on RBE’s management and future strategy, two issues still outstanding in the talks.

For those already operating under its brands or considering an investment, it is worth distinguishing between shareholder negotiations and confirmed operational decisions. Valuations and the names of potential partners describe the sale process, but are no substitute for an announcement about how the network will operate.

Practical takeaway: before changing an investment plan, check RBE’s official communications and the applicable contractual terms; the deal remains under negotiation.