Americana Group, the Middle East and North Africa franchisee of fast-food restaurants KFC and Pizza Hut, reached a deal on Tuesday with Yum Brands, Pizza Hut’s parent firm, to open 100 Pizza Hut branches in Saudi Arabia over the next three years.
In a deal that excludes the Saudi city of Jeddah, up to 30 locations will be opened up in Saudi Arabia’s largest cities and regions by early 2023 by Americana, which operates Pizza Hut franchised branches elsewhere in the region.
With a population of roughly 34 million, the oil-rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the most populous Arab state in the Gulf.
According to its website, Americana, founded in Kuwait in 1964, operates 1,800 restaurants across the region, including the franchises for KFC, Hardee’s, Pizza Hut, and Krispy Creme, among others.
Previously in April, Reuters reported quoting two sources that Americana Group has hired investment bank Rothschild & Co to advise on a potential initial public offering (IPO) and dual listing in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – information that went unconfirmed by both the company and the bank.
Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul bourse signed an agreement in 2019 with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the dual listing of securities in both financial markets.
Americana Group, which was also considering a public share sale in the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia at the time, is owned by an investment consortium led by the founder of Dubai-listed Emaar Properties, Dubai businessman Mohammed Alabbar, and the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
After Alabbar’s vehicle Adeptio Group LLC acquired Americana in 2016, PIF bought a 50% stake in the vehicle later that year. In 2017, when the company delisted from the Kuwait stock exchange, it was valued at $3.5 billion.
The Fund’s decision to invest in Americana was part of the Kingdom’s efforts to increase the volume of investments in non-oil sectors and to ensure economic diversity to achieve long-term financial returns for Saudi Arabia by building a portfolio with an extensive geographical location.
Economic analyst Fadel Al Buainain asserted at the time that the deal, which reflects the strategic plans of the company in the food sector, will result in more diverse investments.
Be the first to comment