[THE INVESTOR] A consortium formed by Maeil Dairies and Carlyle Group is most likely to be named preferred bidder for acquiring McDonald's Korea, according to industry sources.  

This was after most of the heavyweight bidders dropped out of the race. A consortium formed by KG Group and NHN Entertainment dropped its bid, KG said on Sept.26. 
“We will not stretch our resources beyond what is necessary,” the group said in a statement.

Recently, CJ Group dropped out of the race as well, leaving the Maeil-Carlyle consortium as most likely to acquire the US fastfood chain. 



Carlyle, a US private equity fund, has also submitted bids for the acquisition of McDonald’s in China and Hong Kong -- a deal expected to fetch around US$3 billion. McDonald’s US headquarters is planning to sell the two as a package with McDonald’s Korea.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)