Stock Of The Week : KFC Holding Bhd

Eye On Stock
KFC Holdings (M) Bhd in recent weeks has been one of the top gainers on Bursa Malaysia. Late Friday, the company announced that its parent, QSR Brands Bhd has received a preliminary proposal from Tan Sri Halim Saad and Datuk Che Mokhtar Che Ali to acquire the entire business and undertakings of the parent company.

The company said the board of QSR is in the midst of deliberating on the proposal and further announcement(s) will be made in due course. No other details were forthcoming.

The counter's last traded price was RM4.25 on Friday morning, after gaining 28 sen, afterwhich it was suspended from 9.30am onwards.

Takeover vibes surrounding KFC Holdings have also lifted the shares of its parent QSR Brands Bhd and Kulim Malaysia Bhd, which owns 55% of QSR.

Analysts say one of the catalysts for KFC could be its earnings potential from the Indian operations.

Management's aim at gaining a slice of the underserved RM800mil quick-service restaurant market in India is well on track, and firmly underpinned by an accelerated store expansion plan of 30 stores by end-2012, from just three currently, says AmResearch.

In the pipeline are four more stores by end-2010, a further 10 in 2011, and 13 more the following year. - by Tee Lin Say