News

Pizza Hut franchisee in Poland, Czech Republic, set for IPO

March 16, 2005

Interfax Information Services: American Restaurants, or AmRest, which operates the Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants in Poland and the Czech Republic, is planning an initial public offering of existing and new shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the first half of 2005.

The move will enable its 50-percent co-owner, Louisville, Ky.-based Yum! Brands Inc., to exit its investment and to raise funds for core expansion and the launch of new concepts, AmRest's management told journalists on March 16.

The Dutch-registered company received permission from Poland's Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb. 21 to publicly launch on the WSE. It is legally bound to keep IPO details confidential until the publication of its share prospectus, which is likely to happen "soon."

As of last December, the Polish and Czech AmRest arms jointly operated 157 restaurants, making it the second-largest restaurant operator in Central and Eastern Europe after McDonald's.

Read more ...