A pedestrian walks past a Mom's Touch store in Seoul, Oct. 23, 2024. Newsis
Private equity firms are resuming efforts to sell their fast food franchises, as the businesses have become more attractive investment targets amid growing demand for affordable meals during prolonged inflation.
KL&Partners recently sent requests for proposals to major investment banks and accounting firms to select an underwriter for the sale of Mom's Touch & Co.
After acquiring a 57 percent stake in Mom's Touch for 200 billion won ($135 million) from its founder in 2019, the Korean private equity firm delisted the chicken sandwich chain by purchasing the remaining 43 percent stake in 2022 and sought to sell the company the same year. However, the attempt fell through as potential buyers balked at the 1 trillion won valuation.
Following the failed sale, KL&Partners expanded Mom's Touch stores overseas, increasing revenue by 14.6 percent year-on-year to 479 billion won last year and operating profit by 22.2 percent to 89.7 billion won.
While the Chinese fast food chain Tastien has been mentioned as a potential buyer, industry officials are closely watching whether KL&Partners can secure a valuation exceeding 1 trillion won.
A pedestrian walks past a Burger King store in Seoul, Feb. 11. Newsis
Affinity Equity Partners is also reportedly considering selling its 100 percent stake in BKR, which is licensed to operate Burger King and Tim Hortons in Korea. In February, the Singapore-based private equity firm completed the sale of Burger King's Japanese operation to Goldman Sachs.
After acquiring Burger King's Korean operation in 2016, Affinity attempted to sell the business in 2021.
When the effort ended in failure in 2022, the firm opted to retain the hamburger franchise longer and boost BKR’s valuation. With the acquisition of Tim Hortons' Korean operation in 2023, BKR improved its earnings, posting 892.2 billion won in sales and 42.9 billion won in operating profit last year.
Source: Korea Times News
