Carlyle splits China Big Mac
McDonald’s is letting franchisees be the Big Mac in China.
The fast-food giant has agreed to sell the bulk of its China and Hong Kong business for $2.1 billion to state-backed firm CITIC and the Washington, DC, buyout firm Carlyle Group. McDonald’s is keeping a 20 percent stake.
In an unprecedented move for the burger chain, it is also selling the real estate for those properties, so it will not be collecting rent.
McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook, responding to shareholder pressure in May 2015, said he was resetting and turning around the world’s largest burger chain. Selling 80 percent of it Chinese operations is a step in that direction, sources said.
“The Chinese consumer interest in McDonald’s was waning quickly,” Pacific Management Consulting Group founder John Gordon told The Post.
“I believe McDonald’s is selling into a decline and protecting themselves.”
Some McDonald’s investors want Easterbrook to move faster and sell US real estate, but at this point he is not willing to move, Gordon said.
McDonald’s said local partners will help speed up growth in China through new restaurant openings, particularly in smaller cities.
The company has more than 2,400 restaurants in mainland China and roughly 240 in Hong Kong. The new China ownership group plans to add 1,500 in the two areas over the next five years.
In August, The Post reported exclusively that Carlyle and a multinational group were the final bidders for McDonald’s China assets.