Korea McDonald's Up for Sale After 6 Years... US Headquarters Resumes Sale Efforts

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] McDonald's headquarters in the United States has once again put Korean McDonald's up for sale after six years.

According to industry sources on the 10th, McDonald's headquarters is looking for a strategic partnership target for Korean McDonald's.

Korean McDonald's explained the sale push by saying, "We are looking for a strategic partner to grow the brand in Korea," and "We are reviewing options in cooperation with external professional organizations."

McDonald's headquarters previously attempted to sell Korean McDonald's in 2016, but since the sale did not go through, the headquarters has been operating it directly. Therefore, currently, the headquarters holds 100% of the shares of Korean McDonald's.

The China and Hong Kong business rights, which were also put up for sale along with Korean McDonald's in 2016, were acquired by the global private equity firm Carlyle in a consortium with China Zhongxin Group. At that time, Carlyle formed a consortium with Maeil Dairies in Korea, but the acquisition fell through due to Maeil Dairies' withdrawal.

Meanwhile, last year, Korean McDonald's sales (excluding franchise stores) increased by 9.7% compared to the previous year, reaching 867.9 billion KRW. The total sales including franchise store sales reached 1 trillion KRW, marking the largest scale since the headquarters entered the Korean market.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.