Jollibee Foods Corp., a Filipino fast food chain, is set to acquire South Korean chicken franchise operator Norang Food Co. later this year.

According to sources from the investment banking (IB) industry on Tuesday, Seoul-based private equity firms Corstone Asia and Q Capital Partners picked Jollibee as the preferred bidder for Norang Food.

They signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the company on the same day.

The acquiring entity is Jollibee’s Korean subsidiary, which is expected to begin detailed due diligence shortly.

Both parties plan to complete the due diligence by the end of August and are expected to sign a stock purchase agreement (SPA) within the year.

The sale price is estimated to be in the mid-100 billion won range.

Jollibee will acquire a full stake in Norang Food from Q Capital and Corstone.

Headquartered in the Philippines, Jollibee is a global food service company with locations across Southeast Asia, the United States, Europe, and China.

The company entered the Korean market last year by acquiring Compose Coffee for 470 billion won ($344.18 million) in partnership with local private equity firm Elevation Equity Partners.

Corstone and Q Capital acquired a full stake in Norang Food, which runs the Norang Tongdak fried chicken chain, in 2020 for approximately 70 billion won.

Norang Tongdak’s performance has since significantly improved, with the number of franchise locations growing from about 400 at the end of 2019 to over 700 as of this year.

Revenue also more than doubled, rising from 50.2 billion won in 2019 to 106.7 billion in 2024.

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