Burger King/Tim Hortons

[Mendalla]

I thought Wendys tried to expand Timmies south of the border and it didn't go over very well?

They have some penetration in border states. For instance, when I'm coming back from Detroit airport (I fly out of Detroit Metro if it's cheaper than Pearson, as it often is for US and Southern destinations), there's a Timmy's just off the interstate that goes up to Port Huron-Sarnia where I sometimes stop for a bite and a pit stop.

Further south than that, though, they are virtually unknown.

 

[Jaebius]

Except that's not what a government review looks at. That's what shareholders look at. The government looks purely at things like impact on jobs, whether the merger places key technology or security assets at risk, whether ownership of natural resources is affected, and that sort of thing. Whether the merged company is economically viable is a problem for shareholders, not governments.




And if Canadian consumers don't like the merger or paying down BK's debt, they can stop going to Timmy's. That is not a reason to stop the merger.

Canadian's won't easily give up their Tims.

 

[Mendalla]

Canadian's won't easily give up their Tims.

I know that (though I am one of the exceptions and rarely go to Timmy's myself). I'm simply pointing out that if consumers don't like how the merged company uses the profits from their double-doubles, they have recourse and it's not something that should trigger government intervention.