Uni-President in advanced talks to buy Jardine's KFC, Pizza Hut business in Asia, sources say
By Yantoultra Ngui and Kane Wu
HONG KONG, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Taiwanese food group Uni-President Enterprises 1216.TW is in advanced talks to buy Jardine Matheson's JARD.SI restaurant business that runs KFC and Pizza Hut chains in several Asian markets, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
The deal could value Jardine Restaurant Group at about $400 million, one of the people said.
An agreement could be reached before year end, although the terms are not finalised and uncertainty remains, they said, declining to be named as the information was confidential.
Reuters reported in May that Carlyle Group and Yum China were also among parties that had expressed interest in the business.
A Jardine Matheson spokesperson declined to comment.
JRG Communications referred Reuters' questions to Jardine Matheson, its parent company, saying the inquiries related to Jardine Matheson.
Uni-President did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Jardine Restaurant Group operates around 1,000 KFC and Pizza Hut outlets and employs about 25,000 people in Hong Kong, Macau, Myanmar, Taiwan and Vietnam.
It also owns PHD, a take-out pizza chain in Hong Kong. The overall business generates about $35 million to $40 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, sources have said.
The sale comes as global fast-food restaurant chains have benefited from urbanisation, a young population and rising demand for cheap dining in some Asian markets, which has helped them attract plenty of capital from local strategic players and private equity firms over the past decade.
Consumer spending in Hong Kong has, however, been soft, Jardine said in a 2025 annual report, due to deflationary pressures that have hurt the restaurant and consumer segment of its portfolio.
Uni-President has businesses spanning food production, convenience stores, distribution, logistics, packaging, leisure and investments, according to its 2025 annual report.
Its group includes President Chain Store, the operator of Taiwan's 7-Eleven convenience stores, and President Starbucks Coffee.
Uni-President's 2025 net income fell 5.1% to T$19.63 billion ($597.4 million) from a year ago, hurt by higher coffee bean costs and the restructuring of its e-commerce business, according to its 2025 annual report.
Shares of Uni-President have been relatively flat in 2026, giving it a market capitalization of $13.1 billion.
The sale would mark Jardine Matheson's latest divestment as the conglomerate seeks to reallocate capital to core businesses.
It completed a $4.2 billion take-private deal for luxury hotel group Mandarin Oriental in January.
Jardine Cycle & Carriage, the auto distribution unit of Jardine Matheson, agreed to sell its Mercedes-Benz, Kia and Mitsubishi dealership businesses in Singapore and Malaysia to Indonesian energy and chemicals group Chandra Asri Pacific for S$265 million ($207 million) in August.
($1 = 32.8570 Taiwan dollars)
($1 = 1.2780 Singapore dollars)