Thailand's global dining and hotel corporations Minor Group will acquire the chicken franchise Bonchon from domestic private equity fund (PEF) manager VIG Partners. The two sides recently signed a stock purchase agreement (SPA) and entered follow-up procedures to close the transaction.
On the 10th, according to the investment bank (IB) industry, VIG Partners recently signed an SPA with Minor Group to sell control of Bonchon International. The sale reportedly includes the controlling equity held by VIG Partners and the stake held by Bonchon founder Seo Jin-deok. The two sides are negotiating with the goal of closing the transaction at the end of this month. Once the transaction is completed, Minor Group will acquire 100% of Bonchon International's equity.
The specific transaction price was not disclosed, but the market has cited Bonchon's corporate value at around 300 billion won. BDA Partners and William Blair advised the sell side and handled the transaction. With the signing of this agreement, the Bonchon sale has effectively entered the final stage.
Minor Group is a global hotel and dining corporations based in Thailand. Through its dining affiliate Minor Food, it owns in-house brands such as The Pizza Company and The Coffee Club and also operates global dining brands including Burger King, Dairy Queen, and Sizzler. As of the end of last year, Minor International's dining business operated more than 2,700 stores across 68 countries worldwide.
In particular, since 2019 Minor Group has operated more than 100 local Bonchon stores in Thailand and elsewhere. The local franchise operator Minor Group is now acquiring the Bonchon brand itself.
Bonchon Chicken is a homegrown chicken brand that started in Korea in 2002. After entering the U.S. market in 2006, it grew into a global dining brand.
VIG Partners invested about 60 billion won in 2018 to acquire 55% of Bonchon International's equity, becoming the largest shareholder. Since then, it has pushed Bonchon's localization and franchise expansion, centered on the U.S. market. Bonchon is known to now operate more than 150 stores in the United States, with its global store count rising to about 500.