Some of the world's major provate equity firms are showing interest in acquiring Americana, the Kuwaiti operator of major food chains.

Americana, the operator of KFC, TGI Friday’s, Krispy Kreme and Red Lobster in Kuwait, is looking for a suitor willing to pay $5 billion for the group, said a report in The National newspaper.

KKR, Carlyle, CVC Capital Partners, Advent International and TPG Capital were among those named as interested in acquiring the company.

The billionaire Al Kharafi family owns 66.8 per cent of the Kuwait Food Company, which trades under the name Americana, and hired Rothschild in April to explore the possibility of a sale.

Americana, which is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, has a market capitalisation of $4.34 billion, the report said.