McDonald file photo: VCG

McDonald's China has refuted media reports that shareholding companies Carlyle Group Inc and Trustar Capital are seeking a partial exit for the business in China, and the company targets to open 10,000 stores in Chinese mainland. 

McDonald's China is highly confident about the long-term sustainable growth in the China market. 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, the company said in a reply sent to the Global Times on Thursday.

The company's shareholding structure will not change. All stakeholders are highly aligned on the process, it added.

The reply came after Bloomberg reported that Carlyle Group Inc and Trustar Capital are seeking a partial exit from McDonald's Corp's operations in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, citing people familiar with the matter, and said that the deal would raise $4 billion.

GIC Pte and Mubadala Investment Co, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, have been approached about the deal that values the entire business at up to $10 billion including debt, Bloomberg said.

In January 2017, CITIC Ltd, CITIC Capital Holdings, The Carlyle Group and McDonald's Corp announced the formation of a partnership and company that would act as the master franchisee responsible for McDonald's businesses in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong for a term of 20 years.

Currently, McDonald's China has more than 5,000 stores in the Chinese mainland.

Global Times