SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte has teamed up with Saudi Arabia’s Savola Group to bid for Middle Eastern fast-food operator Kuwait Food Co in a deal that could be valued at between $4 billion to $5 billion, reported Bloomberg yesterday. Talks between the three companies are ongoing and a deal could be reached before the end of the year, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
JPMorgan Chase & Co is advising Savola, which has a market value of about $8.5 billion, on the talks, the people said. Savola had bid on its own to acquire Americana, as Kuwait Food Co is known, at the end of last year, people with knowledge of the matter said in December.
Americana was founded in 1964 and is the franchise operator of restaurants such as KFC, TGI Friday’s Inc and Pizza Hut in the Middle East and North Africa region. It also manufactures produce including California Garden beans and Farm Frites frozen vegetables. The Al-Kharafi family, which has interests in the construction, telecommunications and financial sectors, owns 66.8 percent of Americana, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
