Orchestra Private Equity, a private equity firm based in Singapore, has signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire chicken franchise KFC Korea, according to industry sources on Friday.

Under the deal signed on Thursday, Orchestra PE will purchase a 100 percent stake in KFC Korea from KG Group, a chemical-to-steel company based in Seoul.

The transaction has an estimated worth of 60 billion won ($48.3 million) to 70 billion won.

KFC Korea has been on sale for a year by KG Group which took over the fast food chain in 2017 from another private equity firm CVC Capital Partners.

To get better control over the fried chicken chain after the acquisition, Orchestra PE signed a separate contract with Yum! Brands, the American operator of KFC to alter its operating system from direct management to a franchise system.

According to market observers, KFC has struggled to expand its presence in the country due to failure in localization as all decisions had to be made only after consulting with the American headquarters.