McDonald's Indian franchisee Hardcastle to merge with listed parent

Hardcastle Restaurants, master franchisee for south and west India operations of burger chain McDonald's Corp, said it will merge with its parent Westlife Development Ltd.

After the merger, the parent plans to increase McDonald's retail footprint to strengthen its presence in the existing market and enter newer ones, Amit Jatia, vice-chairman of Westlife Development, said in a statement on Friday.

Hardcastle will become a wholly owned unit of Bombay Stock Exchange-listed Westlife, giving investors a chance to participate in the growth of McDonald's in India.

Hardcastle, which operates 148 restaurants in India, has been growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 22.3 per cent over the last three years.

Shares of Westlife, an illiquid stock, ended up 2 per cent on the BSE on Friday.

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012