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Yum! takes bite of China's Little Sheep

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-25 11:48

Pedestrians walk beside the logo of a Little Sheep hot-pot restaurant in Beijing, February 3, 2009. [CFP]

US restaurant operator Yum! Brands said on Wednesday that it had agreed to buy about 20 percent of China hot-pot chain operator Little Sheep for $63 million from UK private equity firm 3i Group and other sellers.

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3i, which led a $25 million investment in 2006 in Little Sheep, got returns of three times its investment from the sale of its 11.32 percent stake in the company, according to a source with direct knowledge of the deal.

Little Sheep said on Wednesday Yum! Brands would buy the stake at HK$2.40 per share, or an 8.4 percent discount to its closing price of HK$2.62 on Tuesday, sending shares in Little Sheep up by more than 20 percent.

Little Sheep has a 6 percent share of China's restaurant market, according to researcher Euromonitor International. The company operated 375 restaurants across China by the end of 2008, 3i said in a statement.

Yum! Brands also bought at 2.6 percent stake in Little Sheep held by China-focused private equity fund Prax Capital, which jointly invested in Little Sheep with 3i in 2006.

Other parties including some controlling shareholders of Little Sheep sold a combined 6.07 percent stake to Yum! Brands, Little Sheep said in a statement.

Yum!, parent of well-known fast-food restaurants such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, said on Wednesday that the deal was expected to be completed by this summer.