McDonald's close to selling Singapore, Malaysia franchises to Saudi's Reza group
05 Oct 2016
Global fast-food giant McDonald's Corp is close to finalising a deal to sell 20-year franchise rights for its Singapore and Malaysia outlets to Saudi Arabia's Reza group, for around $400 million, Reuters today reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Reza Food Services Co. Ltd, which owns and operates around 50 McDonald's restaurants in the western and southern region of Saudi Arabia, has tapped Malaysian bank CIMB to finance the deal, the report said.
McDonald's has about 120 restaurants in Singapore and about 260 in Malaysia.
McDonald's had in March said that it was reorganising its Asian operations by bringing in partners who would own the restaurants within a franchise business.
It had hired Morgan to assist in the sale of around 2,800 restaurants in China, Hong Kong, and South Korea. The sale process of China and Hong Kong will run jointly while that of South Korea will be separate.
The sale has already attracted more than half a dozen bids from suitors like Beijing Tourism Group, Beijing Capital Agribusiness Group, ChemChina, GreenTree Hospitality, Sanpower, and private firms like Bain Capital, TPG Capital and Carlyle Group.