McDonalds to sell Russia business to current licensee

　　div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpReuters McDonalds Corp on Thursday reached a deal to sell its Russia restaurants to its current licensee Alexander Govor and said the outlets would operate under a new brand.p

　　pThe burger chain earlier this week became one of the biggest global brands to exit Russia, laying out plans to sell all its restaurants, while saying it would retain its trademark in Russia.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

　　pThe deal with Govor provides for employees to be retained for at least two years on equivalent terms and the buyer would pay the salaries of corporate employees in 45 regions of the country until closing. p

　　pThe company has operated in Russia for more than 30 years and owns about 84 of its nearly 850 restaurants in Russia.p

　　p Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru Editing by Arun Koyyurp

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