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Diageo to float Burger King
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June 22, 2000: 10:28 a.m. ET
British food and drinks company to sell shares in fast-food business on NYSE
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LONDON (CNNfn) - British food and drinks firm Diageo Plc announced Thursday it plans to offer shares in its U.S.-based fast food restaurant chain Burger King on the New York Stock Exchange at an unspecified date.
Burger King Chief Executive Dennis Malamatinas, who was beaten to the post of chief operating officer of Diageo last year, has resigned from the board with effect from August 30, 2000, the company said. A search has begun for a new head to lead the Miami-based company towards flotation.
"We believe that a partial flotation of the company, which opens the possibilities of a demerger or a full flotation at a future date, is the option we must now develop," said Diageo Chief Executive John McGrath.
 Until a new burger king CEO is in place, Guinness brewing chief Colin Storm would take charge of Burger King and Stuart Fletcher, Guinness's managing director for developing markets, would assume the top job at Diageo's brewing division.
Burger King accounts for around 10 percent of Diageo's total profit, but the parent company has come under increasing pressure to sell the unit, with some analysts highlighting a lack of synergy with Diageo's other activities -- spirits and wine, the Guinness brewing unit and food maker Pillsbury.
As the world's second-biggest fast-food chain, Burger King has struggled to compete in globally with market leader McDonalds Corp. (MCD: Research, Estimates), but has delivered improving profits under Diageo.
Burger King was part of the Pillsbury business that U.K. food and drink company Grand Metropolitan Plc bought in 1989, and became part of Diageo when GrandMet and Guinness merged in December 1997. At the time, Burger King was seen by many as a "poison pill" to prevent a takeover of Pillsbury - one that GrandMet nevertheless swallowed.
Diageo share were little changed at 595 pence in London Thursday afternoon. 
--from staff and wire reports
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Diageo
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