McDonald's Looks to Sell Part of Stake in Japan Franchise
January 12 2017 - 6:40AM
Dow Jones News
By Kane Wu and Julie Jargon
McDonald's Corp. is inviting bids for a significant stake in its
Japan unit, after reaching a deal to sell its China and Hong Kong
franchises, according to people familiar with the situation.
The Oak Brook, Ill.-based fast-food giant owns through
subsidiaries just under 50% of the unit, which is listed on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of around $3.5
billion. McDonald's is looking to sell up to 33% of the unit, with
bids due next week, the people said. A number of private-equity
firms are considering bids, they said. Morgan Stanley is running
the sale, one of the people said. The bank didn't reply to queries
on the deal.
A spokesman for McDonald's said the company is continuing to
explore a potential sale of a portion of its ownership in
McDonald's Japan but that no decisions have been made at this
time.
McDonald's move to trim its stake in its Japan unit follows an
announcement earlier in the week that it is selling an 80% stake in
its China operations for up to an estimated $2 billion, as
fast-food operators throughout the world dump assets and focus on
managing their brands. The model lets companies collect a piece of
sales without the costs and headache of managing hundreds of
stores.
Wayne Ma and Atsuko Fukase contributed to this article.
Write to Kane Wu at Kane.Wu@wsj.com and Julie Jargon at
julie.jargon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 12, 2017 06:25 ET (11:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
McDonalds (NYSE:MCD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
McDonalds (NYSE:MCD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024