NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has emerged as a potential bidder for Diageo PLC's Burger King unit after a planned sale to a private equity group fell through, according to a published report Tuesday.

A consortium led by Texas Pacific Group balked at its original agreement to buy Burger King for $2.26 billion and now is looking for a price around $1.5 billion as the No. 2 burger chain turned out soft fall sales amid a price war with No. 1 McDonald's and No. 3 Wendy's.

An investment in Burger King would not be an anomaly for Berkshire, as it already owns the Dairy Queen ice cream chain.

Franchisees own 92 percent of Burger King's 11,000 restaurants and have said the sale process has been unsettling because management has been focused on the sale process rather than running the business, the New York Times reported.

Despite operational concerns, the franchisees have pressed for the sale and backed the bid by Texas Pacific Group, which has ties to the chain's current CEO, John Dasburg, according to the paper.