Dongwon Group drops bid to take over McDonald’s Korea

Dongwon Group has canceled its bid to take over McDonald's franchise in South Korea.

"We reviewed the takeover of McDonald's Korea but our conclusion was not to proceed with it," the group's holding company Dongwon Industries on Thursday said. 

In January, Dongwon Industries was the lone participant in a preliminary bid for the sale to expand its restaurant business and conducted due diligence on the matter.

Both sides were negotiating the acquisition price but sources say the process was halted due to their failure to narrow differences.

This marks the second failed attempt to sell McDonald's Korea after the first in 2016.

At the time, the global private equity fund Carlyle formed a consortium with Maeil Dairies to pursue the acquisition, but the latter's withdrawal led to the bid's collapse.

McDonald's Korea is 100% owned by its parent company in the US.

Write to Ji-Yoon Yang at yang@hankyung.com