Adeptio agrees to acquire majority stake in Americana

Dubai-based Adeptio AD Investments has agreed to purchase the majority stake in Kuwait Food Co (Americana) for $2.36bn.

According to the deal, Adeptio will pay $8.80 for each share to acquire a 69% stake in the company from Al Khair National for Stocks and Real Estate Co, which is operated by Kuwaiti merchant family Kharafis.

The new purchase price is a 26% premium to the last market price on Wednesday, reported Reuters.

Americana owns the Middle East franchises of KFC and Pizza Hut, in addition to branded consumer foods.

The two companies have come to a binding agreement.

Americana owns around 1,700 outlets and employs 63,000 workers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It also has 17 factories in MENA.

The latest development comes three weeks after the two companies stated that acquisitions talks had failed.

The family has been attempting to sell Americana for the last two years.

Al-Abbar was quoted by Bloomberg as saying: "We are delighted to have acquired one of the crown jewels of the Middle East.

"With its long and successful history as the leading food and restaurants business in MENA, Americana is uniquely positioned in the region."