KFC on Wednesday said it will acquire 218 restaurants from EG Group, its largest franchisee in Ireland and Britain.

Once the deal is complete, all of the privately owned EG Group’s KFC UK and Ireland businesses will come under Yum Brands’s KFC UK and Ireland management.

The fast-food chain operator said it expects to finalise the transaction by the end of the first half of 2024.

It did not disclose financial terms of the deal. EG, based in Blackburn in England, is run by billionaire brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa. EG took over 146 KFC restaurants in Ireland and Britain from Belfast businessman Michael Herbert in 2020. – Reuters