TOKYO: U.S. investment fund Carlyle Group said Monday that it will acquire KFC Holdings Japan Ltd., which runs the Kentucky Fried Chicken fast-food chain in the Asian country.

Carlyle will launch a tender offer to buy KFC Holdings shares at 6,500 yen apiece.

With Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. planning to sell its stake of 35 percent or so in KFC Holdings after the tender offer is completed, the fast-food chain operator will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlyle.

The tender offer runs from Tuesday until July 9. Carlyle plans to acquire about 65 percent of KFC Holdings’ shares from shareholders other than Mitsubishi for about 95 billion yen through the tender offer and other means.

Mitsubishi will sell its shares to KFC Holdings for about 40 billion yen by the end of September. KFC Holdings has expressed its support for the tender offer.

KFC Holdings has reported that its consolidated net profit for the year that ended in March jumped 74.0 percent from the previous year, on sales growth of 10.8 percent.

The company aims to pursue further growth under Carlyle by accelerating the pace of new restaurant launches.

Mitsubishi decided to sell KFC Holdings shares as it reshuffled its diverse investment portfolio.

JIJI Press