OAKVILLE, ONT.  — More than 1,500 Tim Hortons restaurants are scheduled to open in China over the next 10 years through an exclusive master franchise joint venture agreement between Oakville-based Tim Hortons and Cartesian Capital Group, L.L.C., a global private equity firm.

“We have two main priorities at Tim Hortons: building and strengthening our brand in Canada and expanding our iconic Canadian brand to the rest of the world," said Alex Macedo, president of Tim Hortons. “China's population and vibrant economy represent an excellent growth opportunity for Tim Hortons in the coming years. We have already seen Canada's Chinese community embrace Tim Hortons, and we now have the opportunity to bring the best of our Canadian brand to China with established partners who have expertise in the industry and the country.”

Tim Hortons, part of Restaurant Brands International, Inc. along with Burger King and Popeyes, has more than 4,700 systemwide restaurants globally. Cartesian Capital Group has more than $3 billion in capital commitments under management. Cartesian Capital Group in 2012 partnered with Restaurant Brands International and the Kurdoglu family to develop the Burger King brand in China. More than 900 Burger King restaurants are in China now.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with Restaurant Brands International to bring Tim Hortons to China,” said Peter Yu, managing partner of Cartesian. “Tim Hortons has a long, rich history of providing guests with quality food and premium coffee. We plan to expand that tradition to China, drawing on 20 years of experience building businesses in China and around the world.”