TPG Capital is in talks to buy the Spinneys supermarket chain in Egypt from Abraaj Group, in what would be the U.S. buyout firm's first deal in the North African country, two people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg on Tuesday. Fort Worth, Texas-based TPG is the preferred bidder for the business, which may be worth about $100 million, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The private-equity firm would enter into a franchise agreement with Spinneys as part of the deal, one of the people said. No final decision has been made and talks may still falter, the people said. TPG teamed up with Abraaj in 2014 to buy a majority stake in Saudi Arabian fast-food chain Kudu, its first investment in the Middle East. TPG was also among bidders for Kuwait Food Co., the operator of KFC restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa. Kuwait Foods is now in talks to sell itself to a group of investors led by Emaar Properties PJSC Chairman Mohamed Alabbar. Spinneys was founded in Alexandria in 1924 and acquired by Abraaj, the region's biggest buyout firm, in 2004. The retailer has outlets in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Qatar and operates in the United Arab Emirates under franchise. TPG's discussions with Abraaj do not include the supermarkets outside Egypt, the people said. TPG, which manages about $70 billion in assets, early this month raised $10.5 billion for its first buyout fund since the global financial crisis in 2008. Representatives for TPG Capital and Abraaj declined to comment.
