Burger King May Go Private -

NEW YORK, Sept. 1 (UPI) — U.S. fast food giant Burger King may go private for the second time, sources told The New York Times.

The franchise hamburger business went private in 2002, but returned to public status in 2006, although the group that purchased the company, including Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital, remain owners of one third of the business, the Times reported Wednesday.

The firm is now in talks to sell itself to 3G Capital, a New York City investment company.

A separate firm in London, 3i, denied it was negotiating to buy Burger King, although a Wall Street Journal report of negotiations with that firm published on Monday helped push shares of Burger King up 15 percent.

3i spokeswoman Katherine van der Kroft said, “The firm is not in discussions with Burger King and has no interest in the company.”

“This would be a much larger deal than something we’d typically do,” she said.

Burger King is worth about $2.4 billion, the Times said.