Burger King Corporation Cancels Rights to West Bank

Food Court Miami (PROTEXT) - Burger King Corporation announced today thatit has canceled the right of Rikamor, Ltd., its independentfranchisee in Israel, to operate a Burger King food court counterin Ma'ale Adumim in the West Bank. Burger King has asked itsfranchisee to remove the Burger King brand from the siteimmediately. Burger King Corporation said the reasons for this action are abreach of its franchise contract and misrepresentation.Specifically, Rikamor falsely informed Burger King that the foodcourt would be located in Israel. It had been clearly understoodbetween the two companies that Burger King would not approveRikamor opening restaurants in the West Bank at this sensitivetime in the peace process. Burger King has had extensive discussions and consultationsover the last several weeks with Rikamor. Rikamor's majorshareholder has twice assured Burger King that he had undertakento close the food counter; but the food counter remains open. The cancellation of Rikamor's right to operate the site as aBurger King franchise will not force the closure of the foodcounter. But, it will end any involvement of the Burger Kingbrand in its operation at this time. Burger King has made this decision purely on a commercialbasis and in the best interests of the hundreds of thousands ofpeople who depend on the Burger King reputation for theirlivelihood. Burger King has no interest in taking sides in theArab-Israeli peace process, except to welcome its early andmutually acceptable outcome. "Burger King regrets that its name and reputation have becomeentangled in matters that have nothing to do with providingquality food and service to its customers," said David Williams,president of Burger King in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Since 1993, Burger King has encouraged the expansion of itsoutlets in Israel -- 46 to date -- along with an importantIsraeli-based supply network. Williams added, "We are fullycommitted to expanding the Burger King business in Israel andthroughout the Middle East. We have many outstanding franchiseesin the region who are well-resourced and who are dedicated toselling our flame-broiled products to our customers. "We currently have 130 restaurants in the region and firmplans to develop in existing markets, as well as opening newcountries, such as Lebanon and Jordan," Mr. Williams said. Burger King Corporation and its franchisees operate more than10,500 restaurants in all 50 states and 54 countries andinternational territories around the world. Since the company'sfounding in Miami in 1954, the BURGER KING(R) brand has becomerecognized for great flame-broiling taste and HAVE IT YOUR WAY(R)food customization. In fiscal year 1998, the BURGER KING(R)system has system-wide sales of $10.3 billion. Burger KingCorporation is a part of Diageo (NYSE: DEO), the internationalfood and drinks company. In addition to Burger King, other brandsinclude Pillsbury, Haagen Dazs, Johnnie Walker and J&B Scotchwhiskies, Smirnoff vodka, Gordon's gin, Baileys cream liqueur,and Guinness stout. The group operates in over 200 marketsworldwide, and employs around 77,000 people. System-wide, BurgerKing restaurants employ more than 300,000 people. To learn moreabout the BURGER KING system, please visit the company's websiteat WWW.BURGERKING.COM. Burger King restaurants open in the Middle East at August 24,1999 Country

Number of Outlets

First opening Israel

46

August 1994 Kuwait

31

February 1997 Oman

4

March 1993 Qatar

3

October 1996 Saudi Arabia

40

December 1992 United Arab Emirates

6

February 1994 otsOriginal Text Service: Burger King Corporation Internet:http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Burger King Corporation(USA) 305-378-7277 Web site: http://www.burgerking.com

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