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"McDonald's has taken the decision to adopt a development
licensee model for the Malaysia and Singapore markets in order
to enable focused investment in the brand and speed up growth in
these key Asian markets," a Singapore-based spokeswoman at
McDonald's said in a statement on Tuesday.
McDonald's said it was negotiating with "suitable candidates,"
for the Malaysia and Singapore markets, but did not provide any
details or a timeline.
Sources told Reuters that some suitors looking at both countries
had begun to tap banks for financing options to buy the 20-year
franchise rights.
The sources declined to be identified as they were not
authorized to speak to the media.
The move for the Southeast Asian markets follows an announcement
by McDonald's in March that it was reorganizing its Asian
operations by bringing in partners who would own the restaurants
within a franchise business. Competitor Yum Brands <YUM.N> is
also restructuring its China business by spinning it off ahead
of a likely IPO next year.
Bloomberg News earlier reported that the sale of McDonald's
franchise rights in Malaysia and Singapore could collectively
fetch at least $400 million.
(Reporting by Carol Zhong of LPC and Anshuman Daga in SINGAPORE;
Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar)
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