Mitsubishi to Sell KFC Japan Stake to U.S. Fund

Tokyo, April 27 (Jiji Press)--Major Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. is in the final stages of talks to sell all of its shareholdings in KFC Holdings Japan Ltd. to U.S. investment fund Carlyle Group, informed sources have said.

Mitsubishi is expected to make a decision on the sale by the end of May, according to the sources. KFC Holdings Japan runs the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain in the country.

Carlyle Group apparently aims to take KFC Holdings Japan private by acquiring a 35 pct stake held by Mitsubishi and shares held by others.

KFC Holdings Japan is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Standard section. Its market capitalization totals some 110 billion yen.

The company has forecast that its consolidated sales in the year that ended in March rose 10.1 pct from the previous year to 110 billion yen. Its net profit is projected to surge 52.7 pct to 3.8 billion yen.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]