January 25 (SeeNews) - US-owned fast food chain McDonalds said on Monday it has decided to sell its 67 restaurants and 19 McCafe coffee-shops in Romania to Premier Capital, its developmental licencee in another five countries.
The acquisition took place on January 22 and was intermediated by BRD - Societe Generale bank. Premier Capital will provide the capital necessary to finance the development of McDonald's Romania from now on, the company said in a press release.
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The company announced in the summer that it plans to make a deal with a development partner for the franchise in Romania, as the the country is a too small market for a direct presence.
McDonald's current strategic plan includes the long-term objective to operate 95% of its global restaurants in a franchised system, the company said.
The fast food chain said it has a long-term relationship with Premier Capital group of companies, which is McDonald's partner for development in the Baltic countries (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia), Malta and Greece and has a solid experience in working with teams and suppliers to McDonald's.
Daniel Boaje, the current CEO of McDonald's Romania, will remain in this role under the new partnership, the company also said.
"In the last 20 years we have invested over 160 million euro ($173 million) in Romania in our restaurants. We serve more than 65 million annual customers, which means that over 180,000 people Visit our restaurants and cafés McCafe daily," he said.
McDonald's entered the Romanian market in 1994. It now operates 67 restaurants in 21 cities and has 4,000 employees.
Premier Capital is the McDonald's development division of Hili Ventures holding. It currently operates 64 stores in prime locations, more than half of which are McDrives. Premier Capital plc also runs numerous McCafe operations across its footprint.
Premier Capital plc has invested more than 65 million euro in its McDonald’s operation since 2008.
($=0.924 euro)