Private equity fund (PEF) operators selling South Korean food and beverage franchises are increasingly appointing foreign investment banks to reach overseas strategic and financial buyers and pursue higher valuations. Affinity Equity Partners formally launched the sale of BKR, the South Korean Burger King operator, with Lazard Korea joining Deutsche Bank Securities as co-advisor after Deutsche was initially selected as lead advisor. KL&Partners appointed Citigroup Global Markets Securities to sell Mom’s Touch, a deal discussed at approximately 1 trillion Korean won ($733.8 million), to overseas strategic and financial investors. Q Capital Partners and Costone Asia also appointed BDA Partners to relaunch the sale of Norang Food, operator of Norang Tongdak, after an earlier process with Samjong KPMG fell through. The shift follows Jollibee Foods’ acquisition of Compose Coffee in 2024 and Minor Group’s acquisition of Bonchon Chicken this year, as well as limited prospects for premium valuations in domestic sales. Regulatory pressure has grown since Homeplus entered corporate rehabilitation under the burden of majority shareholder MBK Partners’ leveraged buyout. The Korea Fair Trade Commission has finalized rules requiring franchise disclosure documents from 2028 to identify PEF ownership, including whether the fund is the largest shareholder, its stake and the acquisition date.