Burger King partner in Russia refuses to close 800 locations, as fast-food chain moves to divest

Burger King is moving to divest its 15 percent stake in its Russian business, but the burger chain said it can’t legally suspend operations in the market right away.

The Restaurant Brands International chain announced last week it was suspending all corporate support for its 800-plus franchised locations in Russia in response to the Kremlin’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine. The suspension includes refusing approvals for further investment or expansion and pausing operations, marketing and its supply chain.

But the company’s International President David Shear laid out in an open letter to employees on Thursday that the structure of the company’s Russian business hampers its ability to shutter restaurants in the market like some of its competitors.

“Would we like to suspend all Burger King operations immediately in Russia? Yes. Are we able to enforce a suspension of operations today? No,” Shear said.

Burger King entered Russia through a joint venture with businessperson Alexander Kolobov, Investment Capital Ukraine and VTB Capital, which has been hit by U.S. sanctions as an affiliate of a major Russian bank.

Shear said the burger chain contacted Kolobov, who is responsible for the day-to-day operations and oversight of the Russian locations, and “demanded the suspension of Burger King restaurant operations in Russia.” Kolobov refused, according to Shear.

Burger King owns a 15 percent stake in the joint venture, and none of the partners has a majority stake. According to Shear, Burger King can’t immediately shut down the business on its own.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

“There are no legal clauses that allow us to unilaterally change the contract or allow any one of the partners to simply walk away or overturn the entire agreement,” he wrote. “No serious investor in any industry in the world would agree to a long-term business relationship with flimsy termination clauses.”

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

Shear said the company has started the process of divesting its stake in the joint venture, but it will take some time to unwind based on the terms of the agreement. He also said that Burger King is in full compliance with all applicable sanctions.

Enforcing Burger King’s contract would require the support of Russian authorities, which is unlikely to happen anytime soon because of the ongoing conflict and tensions with the West.