Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi eyes Malaysian restaurants

A Thai group controlled by Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi may buy a substantial stake in the KFC and Pizza Hut restaurant chains in Malaysia.

Through his majority controlled Thai Beverage, which brews and markets Chang beer, Charoen is presently taking over the KFC chain in Thailand.

QSR Brands owns and runs the KFC and Pizza Hut quick-service restaurants in Malaysia. Johor Corporation has a 51 per cent stake in QSR Brands, while the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and private equity firm CVC Capital Partners own 25 and 24 per cent respectively.

JCorp took KFC private in 2012 through QSR Brands in a deal listed at RM5.1 billion (US$1.2 billion). The deal was completed in early 2013.

Apart from ThaiBev, Charoen also owns Fraser and Neave (F&N) in Singapore, a company he took over in January 2013. In Malaysia, Fraser & Neave Holdings works in the F&B sector.

Charoen’s ThaiBev last month bought 240 KFC restaurants across Thailand for THB11.3 billion (US$340.2 million).

QSR Brands has more than 775 KFC restaurants in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Cambodia. It also runs Pizza Hut in Malaysia and Singapore, with more than 390 restaurants.