The Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia said it is prepared to outbid CVC Capital Partners Ltd in offering to buy Lembaga Tabung Haji’s 23 per cent stake in fast-food operator KFC Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd.
The chamber has already said it wants to buy a controlling stake in the KFC franchise’s parent QSR Brands Bhd, rivaling an earlier US$1.6 billion buyout bid for the company and its KFC unit by CVC and Johor Corp. It will write to Tabung Haji today offering two options: either be a partner in bidding for QSR, or sell the KFC stake to the business association at RM4.10 a share, Chamber President Syed Ali Alattas said.
“If they have to sell, we will buy,” Syed Ali said in a telephone interview from Johor today. “We would like them to join us. Hopefully, they won’t sell.”
The chamber says it has more than 1 million members, representing the Southeast Asian nation’s “Bumiputeras” or “sons of the soil”, who comprise ethnic Malays and indigenous people. The association wants to prevent control of these companies leaving the community by asking Tabung Haji and similar funds to be its partners.
At stake is control over QSR’s almost 900 fast-food outlets in Southeast Asia and India for brands including KFC and Pizza Hut, according to their websites.
London-based CVC last month teamed up with Johor Corp, an arm of Malaysia’s Johor state government, to bid for all the assets and liabilities of both QSR and KFC Malaysia. That would cost them more than RM5.24 billion (US$1.6 billion) excluding warrants, according to Bloomberg News calculations.
The Malay business chamber is seeking a cheaper option. Instead of buyouts, it’s seeking control by acquiring strategic stakes.
Syed Ali last week said the association will offer Kulim (Malaysia) Bhd. RM6.90 per share for its 54 per cent stake in QSR, topping CVC and Johor’s RM6.80 general offer.
It’s similarly prepared to pay Tabung Haji 10 sen per share more than CVC and Johor for the Muslim pilgrims fund’s 23 per cent stake in KFC Malaysia. That would give the chamber control of about three quarters of KFC’s shares should both deals go through, given that QSR holds a 51 per cent stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The chamber is writing to Bumiputera funds including Federal Land Development Authority and Amanah Saham Mara Bhd to also back its QSR bid, Syed Ali said.
Kuala Lumpur-based QSR operates about 260 Pizza Hut restaurants in Malaysia and Singapore, while KFC Malaysia operates more than 620 fried-chicken outlets in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia and India, according to their respective websites.
They’re both franchise holders, while Yum! Brands Inc, based in Louisville, Kentucky, owns the KFC and Pizza Hut brands.
“We want to use QSR and KFC in the development of entrepreneurs,” Syed Ali said. “We can add another 1,000 outlets, double the number of franchises. We would distribute 70 per cent of these to Bumiputeras.” -- Bloomberg
The chamber has already said it wants to buy a controlling stake in the KFC franchise’s parent QSR Brands Bhd, rivaling an earlier US$1.6 billion buyout bid for the company and its KFC unit by CVC and Johor Corp. It will write to Tabung Haji today offering two options: either be a partner in bidding for QSR, or sell the KFC stake to the business association at RM4.10 a share, Chamber President Syed Ali Alattas said.
“If they have to sell, we will buy,” Syed Ali said in a telephone interview from Johor today. “We would like them to join us. Hopefully, they won’t sell.”
The chamber says it has more than 1 million members, representing the Southeast Asian nation’s “Bumiputeras” or “sons of the soil”, who comprise ethnic Malays and indigenous people. The association wants to prevent control of these companies leaving the community by asking Tabung Haji and similar funds to be its partners.
At stake is control over QSR’s almost 900 fast-food outlets in Southeast Asia and India for brands including KFC and Pizza Hut, according to their websites.
London-based CVC last month teamed up with Johor Corp, an arm of Malaysia’s Johor state government, to bid for all the assets and liabilities of both QSR and KFC Malaysia. That would cost them more than RM5.24 billion (US$1.6 billion) excluding warrants, according to Bloomberg News calculations.
The Malay business chamber is seeking a cheaper option. Instead of buyouts, it’s seeking control by acquiring strategic stakes.
Syed Ali last week said the association will offer Kulim (Malaysia) Bhd. RM6.90 per share for its 54 per cent stake in QSR, topping CVC and Johor’s RM6.80 general offer.
It’s similarly prepared to pay Tabung Haji 10 sen per share more than CVC and Johor for the Muslim pilgrims fund’s 23 per cent stake in KFC Malaysia. That would give the chamber control of about three quarters of KFC’s shares should both deals go through, given that QSR holds a 51 per cent stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The chamber is writing to Bumiputera funds including Federal Land Development Authority and Amanah Saham Mara Bhd to also back its QSR bid, Syed Ali said.
Kuala Lumpur-based QSR operates about 260 Pizza Hut restaurants in Malaysia and Singapore, while KFC Malaysia operates more than 620 fried-chicken outlets in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia and India, according to their respective websites.
They’re both franchise holders, while Yum! Brands Inc, based in Louisville, Kentucky, owns the KFC and Pizza Hut brands.
“We want to use QSR and KFC in the development of entrepreneurs,” Syed Ali said. “We can add another 1,000 outlets, double the number of franchises. We would distribute 70 per cent of these to Bumiputeras.” -- Bloomberg
