On the evening of November 20th, McDonald's Global and Carlyle Group announced that McDonald's Global had agreed to acquire a minority stake in Carlyle Group's strategic partnerships in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
It is reported that the CITIC consortium, mainly composed of CITIC Capital, will maintain a controlling position. After the transaction is completed, CITIC consortium will continue to hold 52% of the shares, and McDonald's Global, as a minority shareholder, will increase its shareholding ratio from 20% to 48%.
The above transaction is subject to approval by relevant regulatory authorities and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
Chris Kempczinski, Global President and CEO of McDonald's, stated that our strategic cooperation with CITIC Group and Carlyle Group has been very successful, and the McDonald's brand is rapidly developing in China. China is now McDonald's world's second largest market, with over 5500 restaurants, doubling from 2017. We believe that now is the best time to simplify the equity structure. The growing consumer demand in China has brought us enormous opportunities. China is McDonald's fastest-growing market globally, and its long-term development potential will continue to benefit us.
Regarding the sale of all equity in McDonald's China, Yang Xiangdong, Chairman of Carlyle Asia Pacific, expressed his gratitude to CITIC Capital and McDonald's Global for their close cooperation with us. Together, we have promoted the rapid development of McDonald's China business and the innovation of digital marketing and operation capabilities
After McDonald's Global strategically sold its main stake in McDonald's China at the beginning, it expanded its stake in the Chinese business at the node of consumer recovery in China, which is conducive to strengthening the importance of McDonald's China in the global McDonald's territory and also stabilizing the growth foundation of McDonald's global performance. "Shen Meng, a strategic analyst at Guangke Consulting, told Securities Daily.
Zhang Yichen, Chairman and CEO of CITIC Capital and Chairman of the Board of Directors of McDonald's China, said, "As the controlling shareholder of McDonald's China, we are pleased to see McDonald's headquarters recognize our long-term partnership and further invest in the Chinese market. McDonald's China is moving towards the goal of breaking through 10000 restaurants by 2028, and we are confident and will continue to do our best
According to the third quarter results released by McDonald's as of September 30, 2023, McDonald's achieved revenue of 6.692 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 14%; Net profit was $2.317 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17%. The same store sales in international franchise markets, including China and Japan, have maintained double-digit growth, reaching 10.5%. As of September 30th this year, the number of McDonald's restaurants in China was 5582, compared to 4905 in the same period last year, an increase of 677 compared to the same period last year.