Shearman & Sterling advised Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI) on its franchise agreements with Popeyes Shanghai Restaurant Management Co. Ltd. (Popeyes Shanghai), pursuant to which Popeyes Shanghai plans to open more than 1,500 Popeyes restaurants in China, and the China regulatory matters in connection therewith. Popeyes Shanghai is an affiliate of TFI TAB Food Investments (TFI).

RBI is one of the world’s largest quick service restaurant companies with up to $32 billion in system-wide sales and up to 26,000 restaurants in over 100 countries and U.S. territories. RBI owns three of the world’s most prominent and iconic quick service restaurant brands – TIM HORTONS®, BURGER KING® and POPEYES®. 

TFI is a leading quick service restaurant operator in Turkey and China, with more than 2,000 restaurants and 50,000 employees. TFI operates a broad range of quick service restaurants across the hamburger, chicken, sandwich, Italian/pizza and Turkish food categories, including the BURGER KING® and POPEYES® brands in Turkey, and the BURGER KING® brand in China. TFI also provides food supply chain and distribution management, bread production, advertising, potato production and meat processing, with nearly all raw materials sourced in Turkey.

The Team