UAE’s Adeptio gets Kuwaiti CMA’s nod to fully acquire Americana

Dubai-based consortium Adeptio has obtained the approval of Kuwait’s Capital Markets Authority for the mandatory acquisition of 107.1 million shares of Kuwait Food Co. (Americana) from minority shareholders, according to a company statement.

Last October, Adeptio acquired a 66.8 percent stake in Americana for $2.4 billion. The consortium bought 268.5 million shares in the company from Al Khair National for Stocks and Real Estate, which is controlled by Kuwait’s Al Kharafi family.

Adeptio, which is led by Emaar Properties chairman Mohamed Alabbar, then launched a mandatory tender offer to the remaining Americana shareholders (representing a 30.51 percent stake) to purchase their shares for the same price.

The collection of Americana shares during the mandatory acquisition phase took place from Jan. 12 to Feb. 13, 2017.

While the consortium had initially agreed to buy the stake in February 2016, Americana said in May that the sale had been scrapped. However, talks between the two parties resumed the following month.

Established in 1963, Americana owns the Middle East franchises for fast food chains KFC and Pizza Hut. The company also produces branded consumer foods.