Savola in takeover talks with Kuwait’s Americana

Savola Group started initial talks to acquire Kuwait Food Company (Americana), the company said in a filing on Tadawul.

The group said it attended a roadshow with Americana managers to explore a takeover possibility and signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Bloomberg reported yesterday that Savola was among a set of firms competing for a possible takeover of Kuwait’s Americana, an investment estimated initially at five billion dollars.

Americana runs several franchise food brands including KFC and Pizza Hut.

The Kuwaiti unit’s market value hit 1.24 billion Kuwaiti Dinars as per today’s closing, and the company posted a net profit of 30.89 million dinars in the first half of 2014.

Al-Kharafi family owns majority stake in Americana Kuwait.