Polish KFC franchisee decides to sell 215 restaurants to another buyer

The Polish restaurant holding AmRest Group has agreed to sell the 215 KFC restaurants it manages under a franchise in Russia to the Izhevsk company Smart Service instead of Almira LLC, transmits RBC with reference to the message of the holding.

On the decision to sell Almira restaurants to AmRest informed in early December last year, at the end of February, the deal was approved by the Federal Antimonopoly Service. The holding terminated the sale and purchase agreement with Almira and on February 25 concluded an agreement on mostly the same terms with Smart Service Ltd, which previously managed 41 KFC franchise establishments. To complete the deal, which AmRest expects to raise €100 million, will have to get regulatory approval again.

American company Yum! Brands, which owns the KFC brand, announced the suspension of investments in Russian assets on March 7, 2022 amid a special operation in Ukraine. In total, more than 1,100 KFC outlets and 50 Pizza Hut outlets were opened in Russia at the end of 2021. Of these, the company owned only 70 KFC restaurants, which were closed in March.

On October 24 last year, Yum! Brands said it was selling its locations in Russia to a local operator. At the end of November FAS allowed “Smart Service” to buy Russian business Yum! Brands. As a result of the transaction, the company receives 70 restaurants and becomes a franchisor for 1,058 partner outlets, which it is obliged to rebrand as Rostic’s. The FAS believes that the deal will save jobs, as well as ensure the company’s continued operation in Russia. Prior to this, the company similarly sold the Russian assets of the Pizza Hut franchise to a local operator.

AmRest, which calls itself one of the largest restaurant holdings in Europe and an important participant in the restaurant industry in China, was founded in 1993 and has been operating in Russia since 2007. Earlier in June, the company sold the Pizza Hut chain establishments it manages in Russia. The buyer, according to the Kommersant newspaper, turned out Noy-M company, founded by top managers of the Rostik group, which develops Il Patio, Planet Sushi, TGI Friday’s restaurants. According to the publication, the business was sold for 300 million rubles.