Adeptio LLC, a company owned by a group of Gulf investors, has signed a preliminary agreement with the main shareholders of Americana to acquire their 66.8% stake in the company.
Adeptio LLC, lead by Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties, has agreed to the transaction subject to regulatory approvals. The stake is held by Al-Khair National for Stocks and Real Estate Company, an investment arm of the Kharafi Group.
Al-Khair owns 66.8% of Kuwait Food Company, better knows as Americana, valued at KWD 510 million (USD 1.7 billion). No financial details of the transaction were provided by either party.
In a statement, Al Abbar said, “Americana is a leading food group with a long and successful history, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to be part of Americana’s rich legacy that was built over the past five decades. We see a bright future for Americana, and we look forward to the development of the group in the future.”
Al-Khair had been in numerous talks over the past two years to sell its stake in Americana. Jeddah-based Savola Group, along with private equity funds KKR and CVC, were seen as the main bidders for the company. Kingdom Holdings Company also made an offer in 2014.
About Kuwait Food Company
Founded in December 1963, Americana is active in 13 countries and employees over 65,000 people. Their main lines of business are operating food and beverage outlets, as well as manufacturing food products. Their network encompasses 12 of the world’s most recognized brands in the quick service, casual dining and fine dining categories, such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardee’s, TGI Friday’s, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn, Signor Sassi, Costa Coffee, and Krispy Kreme. In the food manufacturing and processing sector, Americana has a portfolio spanning nine brands, including California Garden, Farm Frites, and Koki.