McDonald's to sell 1,600 restaurants

OAK BROOK, Ill., April 20 (UPI) -- McDonald's Corp. said Friday it would sell its 1,600 fast-food restaurants in Latin America and the Caribbean to a 20-year licensee.

The Oak Brook, Ill., company said it expected to receive about $700 million in cash from the sale to entrepreneur Woods Staton in a 20-year license arrangement.

McDonald's said the transaction would close in a few months.

"For our customers and the McDonald's system, this transaction enables us to grow faster and become even more locally relevant in a part of the world that has exhibited strong demand for our brand," McDonald's said in a statement.

"For our shareholders, the strategic actions we're taking will reduce volatility and further solidify our commitment to generate strong returns and focus management's attention on the markets with the greatest impact on our results," the statement said.

McDonald's said in a separate U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday it would also pursue the sale of about 600 non-U.S. restaurants to other local developmental licensees.

Those deals are expected to be completed next year.

McDonald's had 31,677 restaurants worldwide as of March 31.