New owner of McDonald's business in Russia begins opening restaurants after downtime under 'Vkusno i tochka' brand

MOSCOW. June 14 (Interfax) - Former McDonald's restaurants in Russia, which have changed their owner and brand, have started opening after three months of being idle. They are now renamed 'Vkusno i tochka' (Delicious. Full Stop).

Fifteen restaurants in Moscow and the Moscow region, including a restaurant on Pushkinskaya Square, reopened on Sunday, June 12.

Another 50 restaurants were to open on Monday, and approximately 200 by the end of June, with 50 to 100 restaurants opening weekly in the future, the fast food chain's general director Oleg Paroev said at the restaurant opening ceremony on Pushkinskaya Square.

As reported, since March 14, McDonald's has closed its restaurants in Russia, and on May 16, the company announced its departure from the Russian market.

Alexander Govor, who had operated 25 restaurants in Siberia on a franchise basis since 2015, became the new owner of McDonald's business in Russia. His company, Club Hotel LLC, received a 100% stake in PBO System LLC (formerly McDonald's LLC) and DVRP LLC (through this company McDonald's was developing the chain in the Russian Far East).

McDonald's had the right to buy the business back within 15 years on market conditions, the Federal Antimonopoly Service, which approved the deal in early June, said.

The McDonald's chain in Russia included more than 850 fast-food outlets. McDonald's total investment in Russia reached $2.5 billion, while tax payments totaled 167 billion rubles. More than 62,000 employees worked in the McDonald's chain in Russia, and about 100,000 were employed at the suppliers' enterprises.

The agreement on sale of business stipulates that the buyer will keep the staff and the terms for them for at least two years.

McDonald's has been operating in Russia for more than 30 years, as the first restaurant of the chain was opened on Pushkinskaya Square in 1990.