26 Oct 2022 – Yum! Brands, the firm behind the KFC name, stated in a press statement on October 24 that it has signed into a sale and purchase agreement to transfer ownership of all KFC properties in Russia.

Smart Service Ltd, an existing KFC franchisee in Russia, will purchase Yum70 !’s locations, as well as the operating system and master franchise rights. As a result, it comprises franchise rights contracts for the whole network of KFC franchised stores.

Konstantin Yurievich Kotov, an entrepreneur who was also a member of the douma in the 650,000-person city of Izhevsk, and Andrey Eduardovich Oskolkov run Smart Service. They already owned 41 KFC franchise locations.

The sale price was not communicated by KFC. The deal is worth around 1.3 billion rubles, according to Kommersant, a Russian business publication (21 million dollars). It goes on to say that all KFC locations, including franchisees, will need to be renamed for Rostic’s, a Russian fast food firm that currently has numerous outlets co-branded with KFC. Smart Service’s rebranding might cost additional 1.3 billion rubles.

However, it is unknown whether all eateries will agree to become Rostic’s franchisees. Unlike McDonald’s, which had just three franchisees and had already departed Russia, the over 1,000 KFC outlets in Russia are operated by a diverse group of independent proprietors.

Yum! said in July that it had transferred control of all of its Pizza Hut franchise properties to a local operator, who had begun the process of rebranding sites to a concept unconnected to Yum!.

The sale of KFC in Russia is expected to be completed later this year, subject to regulatory and government approvals.