KKR, Yum! Brands (YUM) Stocks Fall on Second Round Bidding for China Unit Stake
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- KKR (KKR) - Get Report stock is declining 2.51% to $12.80 in mid-afternoon trading on Thursday as the global investment firm is part of a consortium advancing to a second round of bidding for a minority stake in Yum! Brands (YUM) China unit, sources told Reuters.
Another private equity-backed consortium is headed to the second round of bidding as well. Yum! hopes to spin off its 7,205 China restaurants by the end of this year.
The bids for roughly 20% of the business are due by the end of May, Reuters adds. Yum's entire China business is valued between $8 billion and $11 billion, based on its core earnings of roughly $1 billion.
"I will tell you as a large shareholder, the Yum board selling this business for $7 or $8 billion is not the right thing, and I don't think anyone would disagree about that," Corvex's Meister told CNBC, Corvex owns 5.2% of Yum, according to Reuters.
Yum! Brands stock is sliding 0.27% to $79.95 this afternoon.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "hold" with a ratings score of C-.
KKR's strengths such as its expanding profit margins over time are countered by weaknesses including feeble growth in the company's earnings per share, deteriorating net income and a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: KKR
TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this article's author.
