KFC franchisor Apollo Group, in collaboration with MM Group, is in the process of acquiring Norwegian fast casual restaurant chain Fly Chicken to launch the KFC brand in the country.
Apollo Group plans to convert most of Fly Chicken’s 19 locations across Norway into KFC restaurants.
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In addition to the conversions, the franchisor intends to open further KFC sites in the country over the next five years.
With this move, Norway will become the fifth market where the Apollo Group runs KFC restaurants under a franchise agreement.
Alongside the acquisition, Apollo Group plans to invest €20m ($22m) in the Norwegian market over the coming five years.
Following completion of the deal, Fly Chicken’s co-founder and CEO Ronny Gjøse will remain in his role.
He will lead the transition, oversee the rebranding and drive further development of the Norwegian operations.
Gjøse said: “We built Fly Chicken into Norway’s leading fried chicken concept, scaling to 19 restaurants with a small, efficient team and strong systems, without compromising on quality.
“This transaction brings together complementary strengths, an established Norwegian platform and local know-how on our side, and one of the world’s strongest restaurant brands with Apollo Group’s international experience and resources behind it.”
The transaction supports Apollo Group’s long-term growth targets and strategic expansion plans.
Apollo Group CEO Toomas Tiivel said: “This acquisition marks another important milestone in Apollo Group’s international expansion and further strengthens our position in Northern Europe.
“We see considerable opportunities to further develop the KFC brand by combining Fly Chicken’s local expertise with Apollo Group’s extensive experience in operating and expanding international restaurant concepts across multiple markets.”
Completion of the acquisition remains subject to standard approvals and procedures.
