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The sale of a stake in Starbucks' Middle East and North Africa, a franchise operated by the Kuwaiti group AlShaya, is postponed, according to a source with knowledge of the process who spoke to British news agency Reuters on Thursday.
AlShaya, which is also present in Morocco through Starbucks and the retail shop H&M, is «not in a rush to sell», one of the people told the same source, adding that the sale process is delayed by boycotts preventing bidders from valuing the business.
It is worth noting that AlShaya had previously announced its intention to sell a 30% minority stake. Given the ongoing obstacles, sale talks could restart next year «if conditions improve», the second person told Reuters.
Both US private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc and Saudi sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund (PIF) have shown interest in the sale, Reuters recalls.
Since the start of the war on Gaza, Starbucks has suffered in the MENA region due to boycott calls. In March, AlShaya reportedly announced laying off 2,000 employees of the franchise due to financial difficulties stemming from Gaza war-related boycotts.
In December 2023, Moroccan media reported the departure of H&M and Starbucks, both operated by the AlShaya Group, from Morocco. AlShaya denied this, stating their commitment to Morocco and the continued operation of all Starbucks cafes there.
However, it revealed that it is making some changes to the management of its H&M stores in the Kingdom, which closed shortly after in Casablanca but remained in operation in Marrakech and Rabat.
