News

McDonald's awards licensing rights in Maylasia, Singapore

December 6, 2016

McDonald's Corporation announced it has selected Lionhorn Pte. Ltd. as the Developmental Licensee for its Malaysia and Singapore markets. Lionhorn is led by Sheik Fahd and Abdulrahman Alireza, who bring 20 years of experience as the DL for the nearly 100 McDonald's restaurants in the Western and Southern regions of Saudi Arabia, a news release said.

"This transaction marks another milestone in our company's ongoing efforts to identify strategic partners who share our values and vision to accelerate our growth and scale across diverse markets, drive innovation and place us closer to our customers and the communities we serve," said McDonald's President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook, in a news release.

The DL assumed ownership of the McDonald's business in Malaysia and Singapore on Dec. 1, which includes a total of 390 restaurants, more than 80 percent of which were company-owned. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Under the DL structure, McDonald's transferred its ownership interest in McDonald's Malaysia and Singapore and granted a license to the DL to run McDonald's restaurant operations in these markets. The DL partner will provide the capital necessary to support and grow the business and will pay an initial franchise fee and an ongoing royalty to McDonald's.

"We are pleased to welcome Sheik Fahd as the Developmental Licensee for our business in Malaysia and Singapore," said Simone Hoyle, Head of McDonald's Asia Foundational Markets. "Sheik Fahd and Abdulrahman Alireza's experience in running great restaurants will create brand excitement for our customers and new opportunities for our people as these markets continue to grow and develop."

Leading the day-to-day management of the Malaysia and Singapore markets, respectively, will be local operating partners Azmir Jaafar and Kenneth Chan, both former senior leaders at McDonald's with more than 40 years of experience.