McDonald's Japan Shares Plunge After Report That US Parent Company May Sell Stake

McDonald fell the most in almost five years after a report that says the American fast food chain was looking for investors to offload its stake in the Japanese that's struggling to recover from a series of food scandals. McDonald's Corp., the U.S. parent company, is reportedly looking to gain about 100 billion yen ($825 million) and has asked potential buyers to respond by mid-January.

A McDonald's executive recently traveled to Japan to talk with five or so potential buyers, including trading houses and investment funds, about selling 15-33 percent of McDonald's (Japan) outstanding shares, Nikkei reported, without citing the source of the information. 

The shares of McDonald fell as much as 7.9 percent in Tokyo Stock Exchange, the sharpest intraday drop since March 2011.The shares were down 4.4 percent at 2,814 yen as of 10:45 a.m. local time, while the benchmark Topix index was little changed.

The Japanese unit was valued at $3.23 billion as of Monday's close, according to Reuters. McDonald's Corp., the world's largest restaurant chain, owns nearly half of the Japanese arm McDonald began rethinking its capital relationship with a Japanese arm in July, considering the market unlikely to see significant growth. Selling more that 30% of outstanding shares would keep royalties coming in while lessening the Japanese company's impact on the group earnings.

McDonald's Japanese operations have been under pressure. Recent scandals, including ones over expired chicken in the summer of 2014 and contamination with foreign objects this past January, have left consumers doubtful about food quality.

The U.S. parent is also flagging as it loses competitive clout and American consumers grow more health-conscious. McDonald's said in the spring that it planned to convert 3,500 directly run stores, equivalent to nearly 10% of the global network, to franchises by the end of 2018 as part of efforts to slim down.

 According to CNBC, McDonald's Japanese unit slid deep into losses in the first six months of the year, as customers stayed away after a string of safety scandals and the fast-food chain booked store closure and other restructuring costs, and forecast a full-year loss of 38 billion yen.

Japan's restaurant market shrank from a peak of roughly 29 trillion yen in 1997 to around 24 trillion yen in 2014. The industry will likely undergo further rearrangement as operators struggle to survive amid dropping demand.