QSR Brands Bhd, a Malaysian fast-food chain operator, rejected a revised joint takeover offer made by a company led by Halim Saad, KUB Malaysia Bhd and a unit of London-based buyout firm CVC Capital Partners Ltd.

'The board has decided to reject the proposal,' QSR said in an exchange filing in Kuala Lumpur today, without providing a reason.

The three companies offered RM6.70 a share to take over QSR, according to a separate statement by KUB. That matched a RM1.94 billion made bid by Washington-based private equity firm Carlyle Group on Nov. 25. Idaman Saga Sdn Bhd, a company part-owned by businessman Halim Saad, made an earlier offer of RM5.60 per share on Nov. 22.

A takeover would give QSR's new owner control of KFC Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd, the nation's biggest fast-food operator, as well as the Pizza Hut chain of restaurants in Malaysia and Singapore. KUB owns the franchise for AandW outlets in Malaysia and Thailand while CVC is affiliated to CVC Capital Partners, a private equity firm.

Shares of KUB, QSR, Kulim and KFC were suspended until further notice, the companies said in separate statements today. Shares of QSR have surged 89 per cent this year, outpacing the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index's 17 per cent gain.

KUB worked in collaboration with Idaman and CVC on the revised bid for all the business and undertakings of QSR, according to its statement.

Listed in April 2004, QSR operates more than 530 KFC restaurants in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Cambodia, and about 230 Pizza Hut outlets in Malaysia and Singapore, according to its website. - Bloomberg