GCC firm Adeptio completes $2.4bn Americana stake buy

The sale of a majority stake in Kuwait Food Co (Americana) to Gulf-based investment firm Adeptio for KD711.5m ($2.35bn) has been completed, the stock exchange said in a statement on Thursday.

This confirmed comments to Reuters by the chairman of National Investments Co, which was charged with holding the 66.79 per cent stake being sold by Al Khair National for Stocks and Real Estate.

Al Khair National for Stocks and Real Estate is a company controlled by the Kharafis, a wealthy Kuwaiti merchant family.

Adeptio, an investment group led by prominent Dubai businessman Mohamed Alabbar, agreed in June to pay KD2.65 per share to acquire the stake currently owned by the Kharafis.

The sale was formally completed through an auction process on the Kuwait bourse on Thursday.

Americana owns the Middle East franchises for fast food chains KFC and Pizza Hut and also produces branded consumer foods.