Kuwait’s Americana starts process to sell 69% stake to Adeptio

Kuwait Food Co.’s (Americana) board agreed on Monday to have Dubai-based Adeptio start a 60-day due diligence process in preparation for selling 69 percent of Americana to Adeptio, Americana said in a statement to Kuwait Stock Exchange.

The company didn’t disclose financial details of the prospective deal.

Last week, Adeptio, an investor group led by Emaar Properties PJSC Chairman Mohamed Alabbar, said it had signed an initial agreement to buy a 69 percent stake in Americana from the Al Khair holding company, which is owned by Kuwait's Al-Kharafi family.

Americana has a market capitalization of about $2.95 billion, suggesting the 69 percent stake could be worth about $2 billion. It operates under franchising agreements for restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa such as KFC, TGI Friday’s and Pizza Hut. It also manufactures produce including, California Garden beans and Farm Frites frozen vegetables.