Japan Signals Surprise Yen Intervention Strategy as BOJ Hawkish Stance Puts FX Traders on Alert 
Kawasaki Heavy Shares Slide on Report of ¥200 Billion Capital Raise Plan 
SoftBank’s LY Corp, Bain Raise Kakaku.com Bid to ¥670 Billion, Intensifying Takeover Battle 
South32 Sells Major Aluminium Assets to Alcoa in Deal Worth Up to $5.6 Billion 
Asian Currencies Stay Under Pressure as Dollar Holds Near 13-Month High Ahead of U.S. Jobs Report 
Oil Prices Rise as U.S.-Iran Talks Keep Geopolitical Risks in Focus 
Greece’s Bad Loan Crisis Continues to Limit Credit Access Despite Economic Recovery 
Buffett Delays Gates Foundation Donation Pending Epstein Ties Review 
Trump Administration to Launch Voluntary AI Standards for Frontier Models 
India Manufacturing PMI Slows in June as Demand Weakens Despite Lower Cost Pressures 
Asian Stocks Slide as Chip Shares Tumble Ahead of Key U.S. Jobs Report 
Anthropic Restores Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 After U.S. Lifts AI Export Controls 
RBA Minutes Signal Australia Central Bank Remains Ready to Raise Interest Rates if Inflation Persists 
Turkey Vehicle Sales Fall 11.4% in June as Auto Market Weakens 
Anthropic Brings Claude AI Models to Microsoft Azure Foundry With NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs 
Oil Prices Slip as Iran Talks and Strong Supply Outlook Ease Market Concerns 
Affinity Equity Partners, a Hong Kong private equity firm, has appointed Goldman Sachs to sell its Burger King fast-food businesses in South Korea and Japan in a deal that could fetch over US$1 billion.
Goldman Sachs is targeting both private equity investors and strategic buyers.
Affinity acquired Burger King South Korea in 2016 for about $170 million and the American fast-food brand's Japan franchise in 2017.
Last year, Burger King South Korea reported $572 million in revenue, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) at $67 million.
The adjusted EBITDA in 2022 is expected to reach $83.8 million.
Meanwhile, Burger King Japan's adjusted EBITDA in 2021 was $6 million.
The decision to sell the Burger King businesses comes as the Omicron variant rocked the consumer and retail sectors.
In South Korea, businesses have been relying more on deliveries, causing the number of monthly active users on Burger King Korea’s mobile app to exceed 1.4 million, the highest since the app's launching in May 2016.
Burger King runs 440 outlets in South Korea, more than its rival McDonald's, while the Japan franchise would open three new outlets in January to bring the total there to 149.
