Alabbar-led Gulf consortium to acquire Kuwait’s Americana

A consortium of Gulf investors led by Emaar chairman Mohamed Alabbar has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Kuwait Food Company, known as Americana.

The deal, worth around $1.7bn according to Bloomberg estimates, will see consortium Adeptio acquire all of Al Khair National for Stocks and Real Estates’ 69 per cent stake in the company.

Under Kuwait Capital Market Authority rules, the consortium will then launch a mandatory takeover offer, subject to due diligence, it said.

Americana’s assets include the Middle East franchises for KFC and Pizza Hut and it manufactures food products. The firm has a market value of $2.52bn, according to Reuters.

“Americana is a truly unique asset with a long and successful history. We see a bright future for Americana and look forward to working with management to realise the significant growth potential in the business going forward,” Alabbar said.

Talks to sell the company have been ongoing since early 2014, with expressions of interest from company’s including Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, Saudi food maker Savola Group, and private equity funds KKR and CVC, according to Reuters.