Yum! Brands teams up with Korean PE to buy KFC Korea for $56 million

[Photo by Yonhap]

U.S. restaurant company Yum! Brands Inc. has teamed up with a Korean private equity fund to acquire KFC Korea Co.

According to sources on Thursday, mid-sized PE operator Orchestra Private Equity Fund and Yum! Brands signed a stock purchase agreement on Wednesday to buy the local fried chicken franchise brand from KG Group for about 70 billion won ($56.2 million).

For the acquisition, Orchestra PE recruited Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, as a key investor. The U.S. company, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world’s largest restaurant company that owns quick-service chains such as KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

KG Group acquired Korean KFC business from CVC Capital Partners in early 2017 for about 50 billion won. KG Group is divesting non-core assets to finance the acquisition of Ssangyong Motor Co.

KFC Korea posted 209.9 billion won in revenue with an operating profit of 4.6 billion won in 2021.