A team led by Chinese conglomerate Citic Group and US-based private equity house Carlyle has emerged as the final global group to buy McDonald’s China franchise in a deal that could fetch nearly $3 billion.

TPG Capital and Bain Capital, two other global contenders originally involved in the deal for the fast-food chain’s 2,800 outlets in China, have dropped out of the process, reported Financial Times, citing two people familiar with the deal.

That has left Citic Group and its partner Carlyle as the favoured bidder.

TPG had partnered with Wumart Stores. It was unclear if the Beijing-based retailer was still in the running for McDonald’s China outlets and the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bain had partnered with GreenTree Hospitality, said the report.

The sale of the China franchise of world’s largest fast-food retail chain struggled to attract investors when it was announced earlier this year.

Investors that looked at the deal in the first half of 2016 said many of the terms, such as keeping existing management and suppliers for two years, were unappealing, said the report. The deal also barred the buyer from listing the company, it added.