Burger King

Coca-Cola Co. has agreed to pay hamburger chain Burger King Corp. and its operators more than $20 million to settle a dispute over a rigged marketing test for Frozen Coke, according to a Burger King document. Atlanta-based Coke, the world's largest soft drink maker, admitted in June that some of its employees manipulated the results of a test of the frozen soft drink in 2000 to win Burger King's business.

Burger King Corp. and AOL Time Warner Inc. have entered a marketing partnership. Financial terms weren't disclosed. Burger King will advertise AOL Time Warner music and films, including New Line Productions' "The Lord of the Rings," at its restaurants. AOL Time Warner will promote Burger King on TV networks, including CNN, in magazines and through the Internet, the companies said.

Burger King Corp. and a franchisee, African-American businessman La-Van Hawkins, said they agreed to settle their legal dispute that led to black leaders launching a U.S. boycott against the No. 2 fast-food company. Hawkins had claimed in his $1.9-billion lawsuit filed in April that Burger King had not lived up to a 1996 agreement to help him open as many as 225 hamburger outlets in U.S. inner-city neighborhoods.

Grand Metropolitan PLC, which recently acquired Pillsbury Co., has named Barry J. Gibbons chief executive of Pillsbury's Burger King subsidiary, succeeding Jerry Levin, who has resigned. Gibbons had been chairman and managing director of Grand Met's Grand Metropolitan Retailing Ltd. unit, which operates 2,000 restaurants in Europe. The company said Ian A. Martin, Pillsbury chairman and chief executive, will succeed Levin as chairman of Burger King.

Diageo's Burger King Corp. unit named Bennett Nussbaum chief financial officer to replace Colin Heggie, who left last year. Nussbaum, 55, was finance chief at Kinko's Inc., the closely held operator of more than 1,000 photocopying and printing stores. Miami-based Burger King is the No. 2 U.S. hamburger chain behind McDonald's Corp. Nussbaum will report to Burger King Chief Executive John Dasburg and will assist the company in plans to separate from parent Diageo, the company said.

A coalition of American Muslims called Thursday for a worldwide boycott against Burger King because the chain opened a restaurant in a Jewish settlement on the occupied West Bank. The West Bank has been at the center of the Middle East conflict ever since it was seized by Israel in the 1967 war.

Burger King Corp. has continued to shuffle its top management in an effort to boost the performance of the ailing fast-food chain. The Miami-based firm, a subsidiary of food giant Pillsbury Co., said C. Ronald Petty, 44, formerly president of the chain's international operations, has been promoted to president of Burger King U.S.A. Petty replaced Charles S. Olcott, who two weeks ago was promoted to a new position as president and chief operating officer of Burger King.

Burger King Corp. said it will put the fast-food chain's $400-million U.S. advertising account up for review because of disappointing sales. Lowe Lintas Partners Worldwide, a unit of Interpublic Group of Cos., is Burger King's ad agency. Lowe Lintas will be invited to take part in the review, though it will need a drastically new approach, Burger King said.

Burger King Corp. said it will stick with Coke and Dr Pepper/Seven-Up products at its restaurants, dealing yet another blow to PepsiCo Inc.'s efforts to strengthen its fountain business. Burger King, a unit of Britain's Diageo, said it will continue its relationship with Coca-Cola Co. and Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Cos., a unit of Cadbury Schweppes. Pepsi had lobbied hard for the Burger King account.

Burger King Corp. said Friday that its chief executive, Brad Blum, had left the company after 18 months on the job, citing strategic differences with the company's board of directors. The departure of Blum, Burger King's ninth CEO in the last 15 years, was seen by analysts as a blow to a chain that has just recently begun to regain its footing in the competitive U.S. fast-food market.