The Blackstone Group (BX) Sunday announced that its private equity funds have agreed to acquire Antares Restaurant Group in New Zealand from Anchorage Capital Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Antares has the exclusive franchise development rights for the Burger King brand in New Zealand and operates 75 Burger King restaurants throughout the country.
Under the leadership of the current management team, the business is in the early stages of an ambitious refurbishment program while also opening new restaurants to broaden the footprint in an increasing number of local communities across New Zealand.
John Elliott, chief executive officer of Antares, said "I am delighted that Blackstone will be the new investor and owner of Antares. With their long term focus and drive to add value through deployment of capital and operational improvements, we believe that they are the perfect partner to work with to take Antares to the next level."
Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisor for Blackstone with Rippledot Capital Advisers acting for Anchorage. Deloitte furthermore assisted Blackstone with financial and tax due diligence. Bell Gully and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett acted as legal advisors to Blackstone with Minter Ellison Rudd Watts acting for Anchorage. Debt financing and ongoing credit facilities to Antares are being provided by ANZ, Rabobank and Westpac.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.