Diageo has finally sold Burger King, its fast food restaurant business, to Texas Pacific, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs for the hugely reduced price of $1.5bn (€1.5bn) with just three weeks of the exclusive negotiating period left to run.

The price is 33% lower than the $2.26bn agreed in July. A price cut was expected after a fall in projected operating profits for the six months to December, but it proved to be only 20%.