The American fast food giant McDonald's reached an agreement on Thursday to buy the Alonyal group, owner in Israel of 225 franchised restaurants, affected by boycott calls related to the war in the Gaza Strip.
The head and owner of Alonyal Limited, Omri Padan, confirmed last Thursday "that an agreement had been signed to sell Alonyal to the McDonald's group," the American group reported in a press release.
The amount of the transaction has not been disclosed, which remains subject to "certain conditions" that are not detailed and should be finalized in the coming months.
Alonyal, whose first licensing agreements with the famous yellow arches brand date back more than three decades, employs more than 5,000 people.
Upon completion of the transaction, "the McDonald's group will own the Alonyal restaurants and operations, and employees will be retained under equivalent conditions," the statement states.
"McDonald's remains committed to the Israeli market," said Jo Sempels, president of international franchise development for the fast food giant, quoted in the press release.
During McDonald's presentation of its 2023 annual results on February 5, management acknowledged that sales volume was being affected by Israel's siege of Gaza, which began in early October.
McDonald's became a prime target after its franchise in Israel announced in November that it would offer thousands of free meals to the Israeli military.
"We recognize that families in these areas continue to be tragically affected by the war and our thoughts are with them," said Chris Kempczinski, head of the group, during a conference with analysts.
“The impact is significant,” he added, refusing to give a numerical quantification.
Fourth-quarter revenue narrowly missed analyst expectations, including a comparable decline of 0.7% in international licensed markets.
According to Kempczinski, this impact has been "more pronounced in the Middle East. But we see some impact in other Muslim countries like Malaysia and Indonesia."
This also happens in countries with a large Muslim population, such as France, especially when the restaurant is in a neighborhood where Muslims are numerous, he added.
In electronic trading after the New York Stock Exchange closed on Thursday, McDonald's shares lost 1.98%.
