McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook is looking toward China for the company’s next big move.
The 2,200 McDonald’s stores operating in China — 65 percent of which are owned by the Oak Brook, Ill., branch — are expected to sell for between $1.5 and $2 billion dollars. McDonald’s would also earn a nominal interest rate between 5 and 7 percent over the course of the 20-year deal, the Journal reports.
Private equity firms Carlyle and TPG teamed up with Chinese firms to propose the some $3 billion deal, Fortune reports. As part of the deal, McDonald’s is asking partners to build 1,300 more locations.
Currently, the largest shareholder in the market for fast food in China is Kentucky Fried Chicken, which has over 5,000 operating locations.
Experts in the Chinese market note that fast food companies are facing steep competition, not between themselves, but due to the growing culture of healthy living in urban China, the Journal reports.
Once characterized as “an absolute goldmine,” for fast food companies, the Chinese have become much harder to impress with Western junk food.
Chinese have experienced fast food for decades, and are looking for healthier options over hamburgers, fried chicken, and milkshakes.
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