(Reuters) -Carlyle Group Inc and Trustar Capital are planning to raise $4 billion from wealth funds to buy part of their stakes in McDonald's Corp operations in Hong Kong and mainland China, Bloomberg News reported.
The move would provide a partial exit for the buyout firms after they bought the business six years ago, according to the report on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg said the private equity firms would set up a new vehicle to provide a potential or partial exit for some existing investors which could allow them to raise fresh capital.
"The company's shareholding structure will not change. All stakeholders are highly aligned on the process," McDonald's China said in an emailed response to Reuters on Thursday.
"We will continue to leverage the capital and other resources from CITIC (Trustar Capital), Carlyle, and McDonald’s Corp to achieve the future milestone of 10,000 stores," it said.
McDonald's currently has 5,400 stores in China. Trustar Capital is a private equity affiliate of CITIC Capital.
Shareholders have agreed to the plan, and the asset managers have approached Mubadala Investment and GIC Pte to finalize a deal that values the business at up to $10 billion including debt, the report said.
The asset managers aim to reach an agreement with investors in the fourth quarter of this year, the report said.
Carlyle declined to comment. GIC and Trustar did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Trustar Capital is a private equity affiliate of CITIC Capital
Reuters had reported in April citing two people with knowledge of the matter that Carlylye was discussing various options including setting up a continuation fund with financial advisers for its stake in McDonald's China.
(Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru and Brenda Goh; Additional reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Stephen Coates)
