Asian private equity firm Longreach Group is considering selling its majority stake in the hamburger chain Wendy¡¯s First Kitchen in Japan, people familiar with the matter have said.
Longreach has hired a financial adviser and is seeking potential buyers, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. The company bought Wendy¡¯s Japan shares in 2016, also taking control of Wendy¡¯s unit First Kitchen.
Japan¡¯s hamburger chain market is expanding thanks to Burger King¡¯s aggressive store-opening strategy and limited price increases that have retained consumers in an inflationary economy. The nation¡¯s fast-food market will likely nearly double to $104.1 billion by 2033 from $58.6 billion in 2024, research firm Imarc Group predicts.
Such growth is expected even as Japan sees a shrinkage in its population of people in their 20s and 30s, who are among the biggest consumers of fast food, according to a survey by Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living.
Imarc has said in a report that technological advancements, favorable government regulations and growing collaboration between fast-food chains and local suppliers are some of the factors driving the increase.
A Longreach spokesperson declined to comment.
Mergers and acquisitions betting on further growth are also increasing. Hong Kong investment fund Affinity Equity Partners said in November that it would sell Burger King¡¯s Japanese operations to Goldman Sachs Group.
Wendy¡¯s Japan Chairman Ernest Higa is also the president of food importer and distributor Higa Industries, which holds shares in Wendy¡¯s Japan as well and may sell its stake at the same time, according to the people familiar with the matter.
Wendy¡¯s First Kitchen has a combined total of 108 domestic restaurant locations. McDonald¡¯s leads Japan¡¯s market with 2,978 stores, followed by Mos Burger with 1,312, according to data compiled by Nippon Software Service as of April 2025. Wendy¡¯s First Kitchen ranks eighth.
The U.S. eatery opened its first store in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969, according to its website. It now has more than 7,000 restaurant locations in over 30 countries and U.S. territories. The burger chain debuted in Japan in 1980, withdrew once, and reentered in 2011. Wendy¡¯s Japan acquired First Kitchen from Suntory Holdings in 2016, taking over a chain that specialized in menu items that were unusual at the time like bacon and egg burgers, flavored French fries and pasta.
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