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It’s official. The countries largest coffee and donut chain is being swallowed up to become part of one of the largest fast food chains in the world with a head office in Oakville.

The Canadian government has approved the sale of Tim Hortons to Burger King. But the deal was only made once the buyer agreed to some conditions designed to protect Canadian interests.

This new company, that started right here on Ottawa Street in Hamilton fifty years ago, will become the third largest fast food company in the world.

The deal is worth $12.5 billion dollars in what was a friendly takeover, that’s a lot of French fries.

It had been announced that Burger King would buy Tim Hortons last August pending the approval of the government. Industry Minister James Moore said today that the deal has been approved under the Investment Canada Act which mandates that corporate takeovers of a Canadian business by a foreign company must provide a net benefit to Canada. So this is where the restrictions come in.

The most prominent are that the new company is obligated to keep current employment levels at Tim Hortons at 100%. And half of the seats on the new board must be reserved by Canadians. Also, rent will not increase for franchise owners. The head office will be set up in Oakville as mentioned, and the company will be listed on the TSX. We went to find out what some Tim Hortons customers think of the deal.

Peter Miedema: “It’s quite interesting. I’m surprised that Tim Hortons would do something like that. But yeah, I guess if it works for Burger King and Tim Hortons, I’ve got no problem with it.”

Rachel Webb: “If I can have a coffee, double-double, every single day, I’m ok with that. But if they raise the prices, I may become not so much of a fan of Tim Hortons anymore.”

Matt Howat: “It’s interesting. I’d like to see them tackle a double-double whopper.”

So far Ottawa is pointing to this deal as a sign that their low corporate tax rate is attracting foreign business to Canada. We reached out to representatives at Tim Hortons tonight and they would not comment because their spokespeople don’t have all the details, but that will come out in the coming weeks.

But while Ottawa may be bullish on this deal right now, many people remember that restrictions were placed on the deal that allowed U.S. Steel to purchase Stelco here in Hamilton.

So in that context, we could understand if some are apprehensive.