FAST NEWS: TH International relaunches Popeyes chain in China

The Latest: Restaurant operator TH International Ltd. (THCH.US), which also uses the name Tims China, said on Monday it opened its first restaurant from the popular Popeyes fast food chain in Shanghai over the weekend.

Looking Up: The company, which also operates the Tim Hortons restaurant chain in China, said it plans to open at least 10 more Popeyes restaurants in Shanghai in the coming quarter, and aims to operate 1,700 Popeyes stores across China over the next decade.

Take Note: The previous owner of the Popeyes chain in China made similar forecasts with a plan to operate 1,500 stores in the market after opening its first store in 2020. But that owner ended up leaving the market last year after only opening about 10 stores.

Digging Deeper: Tims China operates the popular Tim Hortons restaurant chain in China, and listed in New York last year using a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). It opened its first Tim Hortons store in 2018 and is aggressively expanding in China, with plans to operate 1,000 stores from the chain by the end of this year and 3,000 by the end of 2026. It acquired the rights to Popeyes in China last year from the brand’s owner, Restaurant Brands International (QSR.US), which also owns the Tim Hortons brand.

Market Reaction: TH International’s shares rose 3.6% to close at $2.28 in Monday trading in New York. The stock has lost about 70% of its value since it completed its SPAC listing last August.

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Reporting by Doug Young