Restaurant Brands New Zealand Ltd. said Oct. 18 that it received a nonbinding, indicative cash offer from Mexican private equity firm Finaccess Capital to acquire up to 75% of the company's shares for NZ$9.45 per share.

Restaurant Brands New Zealand operates franchises of Yum! Brands Inc.'s KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell as well as those for Starbucks Corp. and CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc.'s Carl's Jr. in New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii. However, the company is set to sell its Starbucks business to New Zealand-based Tahua Capital Ltd.

Finaccess already has a controlling interest in Poland's AmRest Holdings SE, which operates branded outlets across Europe and China for KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and U.S.-based Restaurant Brands International Inc.'s Burger King.

Restaurant Brands New Zealand said it is also in discussions with Finaccess about finalizing an agreement for the private equity firm to issue a takeover notice. The current offer to acquire a 75% stake does not constitute such a notice.

In addition, the company noted that its board decided not to declare an interim dividend for fiscal 2019 because the price offered in Finaccess' proposal is subject to adjustment for any dividend paid.

Macquarie Capital and Harmos Horton Lusk are acting as advisers to Restaurant Brands New Zealand for the proposed transaction.

As of Oct. 17, US$1 was equivalent to NZ$1.52.