Kirkland & Ellis and JunHe represented Carlyle Group in the USD1.8 billion sale of its entire stake in the McDonald’s China operation to McDonald’s.
M&A partners Pierre Arsenault and Jesse Sheley led the Kirkland & Ellis team, advising international law. Debt finance partners Jacqueline Zheng and Karen Ho, tax partner Mike Carew, antitrust and competition partner Paula Riedel, litigation partner Paul Quinn and technology and IP partners Jeffery S. Norman and Wang Min also assisted on the sale.
JunHe acted as Carlyle Group’s PRC counsel, led by partners Nelson Zhou, Daniel He, Phyllis Xu and Lily Sun. Partners Janet Hui and Yang Chen provided antitrust advice.
McDonald’s stake in the China operation will increase from 20% to 48% after the transaction. The CITIC Capital-led consortium will maintain its 52% controlling stake in McDonald’s China.
Seven years ago, Carlyle, CITIC and CITIC Capital struck an agreement with McDonald’s for the acquisition of the latter’s business in China for up to USD2.08 billion. After the transaction, the CITIC consortium held a 52% equity stake, while Carlyle held 28%.
Currently, China is the fast-food burger giant’s second-largest market globally, and McDonald’s China plans to have 10,000 restaurants on its books by 2028.
