This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:16 p.m. on Jun. 23, 2026.
The preliminary bidding for the sale of the Mom's Touch hamburger franchise will take place as early as August.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 23rd, KL&Partners, the largest shareholder of Mom's Touch, is contacting potential buyers and conducting initial due diligence with the sale manager Citigroup Global Markets Securities. Although the detailed schedule has not been finalized, given the current pace, the preliminary bidding is said to be planned around early August. Overseas financial investors (FI) and strategic investors (SI) are mainly mentioned as potential buyers.
KL&Partners earlier in April appointed Citigroup Global Markets Securities as the sale manager, with legal advice provided by Yoon & Yang LLC and accounting advice by Samjong KPMG. The sale target is 100% of the equity in Mom's Touch held by KL&Partners through the special-purpose company Korea F&B Holdings.
KL&Partners acquired 56.8% equity from founder Chair Jeong Hyeon-sik in 2019 for about 193.7 billion won, then injected about 120 billion won more in 2022 to raise its stake to above 95% before carrying out a voluntary delisting. The same year, it sought a sale, but the attempt fell through after failing to find a buyer at an asking price in the 1 trillion won range.
What favors the enterprise value (EV) assessment in this sale is improved performance after the acquisition. On a consolidation basis last year, revenue and operating profit were 479 billion won and 89.7 billion won, respectively, and EBITDA was 103.1 billion won. That is more than four times the EBITDA (23.7 billion won) at the time of the 2019 acquisition.
Before the sale, KL&Partners conducted a recapitalization to return about 1.7 times the initial investment to limited partners (LPs). The internal rate of return (IRR) has been raised to the mid-20% range. From KL&Partners' standpoint, the conditions are in place to sell without rushing.
The asking price cited on the sell side in the industry is at least 1 trillion won. Applying a 10x EV/EBITDA multiple yields the low 1 trillion won range. Given that overseas F&B franchise valuation multiples are around 13 to 15 times, some believe it could be valued higher. However, considering the characteristics of the domestic dining-out market, there is considerable caution that it will be set lower, due to concerns that the size of the domestic market could shrink in the long term.
The potential for overseas expansion is also cited as a factor supporting the valuation. Mom's Touch entered Thailand in 2022, followed by Mongolia, Laos and Uzbekistan, through a master franchise (MF) model. After opening its first directly managed store in Shibuya, Tokyo, in 2024, it has increased to five stores, one of which is a franchise.
An IB industry official said, "Considering the recent K-culture boom, the future growth potential and steadily improved profitability are positive for enterprise value," adding, "The sale price hinges on how much these factors are reflected."