South Korean cafe chain Twosome Place, owned by private equity firm Carlyle Group, has reached the final stage of negotiations to acquire KFC Korea, industry sources said Tuesday, in what is viewed as Carlyle’s strategic push into the broader food service sector.
According to the sources, the cafe franchise recently concluded due diligence on KFC Korea, with KPMG Korea advising on the process, and is now engaged in detailed negotiations with the seller over a deal valued at around 250 billion won ($174 million). Final approval from the Carlyle Group is still pending.
Twosome Place has yet to provide a definitive position.
“Twosome Place remains committed to pursuing sustainable growth opportunities,” a company official said. “However, there is nothing finalized or ready to be disclosed at this time.”
Sources view the deal as a strategic move aligned with the group's efforts to diversify and strengthen its footprint in the food and beverage sector.
Carlyle acquired Twosome Place in 2021 for about 800 billion won and has since focused on driving revenue growth and enhancing corporate value. Twosome Place reported 520 billion won in revenue and 32.7 billion won in operating profit in 2024, up 8.3 percent and 25.2 percent on-year.
Its acquisition of KFC Holdings Japan last year has also fueled speculation about potential cross-border synergies between the Korean and Japanese markets.
KFC Korea is currently owned by private equity firm Orchestra PE, which bought the brand from KG Group in 2023 for about 100 billion won and has been pursuing a sale since early this year.
KFC Korea generated revenue of 292.3 billion won last year, up 18 percent from the previous year. In the first half of this year, revenue rose 19.2 percent to 167.8 billion won, while operating profit jumped nearly 40 percent to 9.3 billion won, marking a record high for the period.
minmin@heraldcorp.com
