Ackman ready to take on McDonald's Bill Ackman, the activist investor, had not eaten at Burger King for several years but he was hungry for a big name brand punching below its weight. "This is one of the great businesses in the world, that was mismanaged for a long time," Mr Ackman said on Wednesday. Late Tuesday night, Burger King, the US restaurant chain, said it would sell a 29 per cent stake to Justice Holdings , a UK investment vehicle founded by Mr Ackman, which will take the company public. The group, which also includes Martin Franklin, chairman of consumer products group Jarden, and Nicolas Berggruen, a French billionaire who has worked with Mr Franklin on other acquisition vehicles, paid $1.4bn in cash to 3G Capital for the minority stake. The deal marks a quick turnround for 3G Capital, which took Burger King private in 2010 in a $4bn buyout. Burger King has struggled in recent years against a behemoth of a rival in McDonald's, the fast-food leader, and a resurgent Wendy's, which recently overtook it for second place in the "burger wars" for US market share. Burger King accounted for 20 per cent of the market in 1998 and fell close to 10 per cent last year, according to Janney Capital Markets. Mr Ackman, who runs the hedge fund Pershing Square and has been a personal investor in Burger King, said on a conference call with analysts on Wednesday he was ready to take on McDonald's. "Burger King has become a fast-moving, aggressive competitor," he said. We're going to do the same things McDonald's has done, but more quickly. Mr Ackman praised the success that McDonald's but said its business model was "enormously bloated" and Burger King would be operated as a nimble start-up. Earlier this week the company launched a new menu with salads, smoothies and ice cream. The company recently banished its "King" mascot, broadened its marketing strategy and is remodelling its stores. Mr Ackman has experience with McDonald's. In 2005, Pershing Square took a 4.9 per cent stake in the group and urged its management to spin off its company-operated restaurants and keep the franchise business. Justice approached 3G Capital about a month ago to propose the deal, Mr Ackman said. The group was not intending to sell and had plans for an IPO in early 2013, but Mr Ackman convinced them that going public through Justice would be faster, easier and allow Burger King to move ahead with its international expansion plans more quickly. When the deal closes within three months, Justice will stop trading on the London Stock Exchange and Burger King will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr Ackman joined forces with Mr Franklin and Mr Berggruen last year. Justice was the first acquisition vehicle to take advantage of relaxed listing rules, which no longer required such cash shells to win a shareholder vote on their eventual investment - a feature that had mired previous vehicles in rounds of back-and-forth negotiation with investors. In effectively merging with Justice, Burger King can start trading in the New York market very quickly, within about 60 to 90 days. The company has been filing quarterly and annual reports with the SEC, despite its private ownership, which also helps accelerate the process. Mr Ackman, who this week praised the operating nous of the 3G team, has also invested with the fund personally. But, known for his sensitivity to even perceived conflicts of interest, he will take stock rather than cash from the deal with Justice, increasing his personal holding in Burger King. He also pledged to hold on to that stake as long as Pershing is also a shareholder. Analysts questioned the timing of the deal and the wisdom of challenging McDonald's at one of the strongest moments in the company's history. Mr Ackman noted that Burger King, which was founded in 1954 and has about 12,000 restaurants in 81 countries, is one of the most recognised brands in the world and that the company has suffered from a change in chief executives nearly every two years. "If you gave someone $25bn to replicate the market position of the company, you could not," Mr Ackman said. The sheer cost of creating that awareness overwhelms what we are paying.