Burger King Worldwide Inc (BKW) Wins Morgan Stanley (MS)’s Support over Arch-Rival McDonalds Corporation (MCD)

Who would have imagined that the rampant cola-war would one day be replaced with burger-war wherein a gigantic global behemoth named McDonalds Corporation (NYSE:MCD) will find itself pitted against a local chain named Burger King Worldwide Inc (NYSE:BKW)? This is indeed the scenario wherein the USA-centric Burger King Worldwide Inc (NYSE:BKW) received a thumbs-up from none other than Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) as a better investment option in comparison to McDonalds Corporation (NYSE:MCD), the global chain which made burgers available in even the remotest corners of the world.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has based its stance to support Burger King Worldwide Inc (NYSE:BKW) on several observations, the foremost amongst which is it’s merger-to-be with Tim Hortons, a Canadian fast-food chain. As per experts, when the merger is complete in 2015, the combination is likely to not just send share prices soaring but also accrues sizeable savings. It will also position the company at fifth rank in terms of market capitalization and provide it with a unique opportunity to spread its wings beyond the North-American continent.

On the other hand, the outlook appears to be bleak for McDonalds Corporation (NYSE:MCD) wherein Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) stated the company as suffering from loss of market share in USA, weak fundamentals and changing preferences of people the world over. In the words of the financial analyst –

“McDonald’s may simply be suffering a high class problem of not being able to grow further.”

Therefore, a turnaround is possible only if expenditures – administrative, general and capital, are drastically cut, innovation is encouraged and re-modeling is attempted. That said, CEO of the world’s most well-known burger, John Betts, is not sweating at all and had the following comment on his rival’s imminent merger –

“After being here 44 years, nothing surprises me anymore.”

He is definitely more excited about McDonalds Corporation (NYSE:MCD)’ latest product launch in Canada namely McCafe Coffee wherein the beverage would be sold at retail outlets for consumers who prefer to brew their own concoction in the comfort of their homes.

Meanwhile, the two chains are engaged in a neck-to-neck battle, the latest being the introduction of black burger in Japan. Burger King Worldwide Inc (NYSE:BKW) launched its black creation in September, 2014, wherein the burger and cheese were blackened using bamboo charcoal and the sauce was rendered the same color courtesy of squid ink. McDonalds Corporation (NYSE:MCD) decided to reply with its in-house black version which has been created with Halloween in mind and comprises of a pair of beef patties nourished with yellow cheese and spiced with yellow sauce and fried onions.

Another way by which Burger King Worldwide Inc (NYSE:BKW) intends to hit back at its global competitor is by offering chicken nuggets at a cheaper price which is explained by its Chief marketing Officer in the following statement –

“With the growing consumer demand for chicken menu items, we wanted to offer our guests an aggressive deal rivaling anything our competition has ever done.”

This article has been written by Vinita Basu.

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