Southeast Asia KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants operator QSR Brands picks banks for Malaysia IPO

 Southeast Asia KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants operator QSR Brands picks banks for Malaysia IPO

(Dec 10): QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd, which runs KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Southeast Asia, has picked banks to arrange a potential initial public offering that could be Malaysia’s biggest first-time share sale in four years, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Kuala Lumpur-based company chose CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Citigroup Inc to work on the planned offering, said the people, who asked not to be named as the process is private. Credit Suisse Group AG and UBS Group AG have also been picked for the listing, which is expected to take place next year, the people said.

Deliberations are ongoing and the size and timing of the IPO could still change, the people said. Representatives for CIMB, Credit Suisse and UBS declined to comment, while representatives for QSR and Citigroup didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The food chain operator, which is backed by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, is seeking a valuation of more than 6 billion ringgit (US$1.4 billion) and aims to raise as much as US$500 million from the share sale, said the people. At that size, QSR’s IPO would be the biggest in Malaysia since Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd raked in US$849 million in 2017, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

QSR, which aborted a planned share sale in 2019, is reviving the process after seeing strong demand for MR D.I.Y. Group (M) Bhd and Ctos Digital Bhd’s first-time share sales, Bloomberg News reported in August.

The fast-food company has the sole right from Yum! Brands Inc to operate KFC restaurants in Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and Brunei, as well as Pizza Hut restaurants in Malaysia and Singapore, according to its website.

Owners of QSR, which also include state-owned Johor Corp and pension fund Employees Provident Fund, had considered selling their stakes in 2019, after the company shelved its US$600 million IPO earlier that year, Bloomberg News had reported.

http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/southeast-asia-kfc-and-pizza-hut-restaurants-operator-qsr-brands-picks-banks-malaysia-ipo