Group company Asia Yoshinoya International will sell the 28% share in Sushi King to the majority owner of the chain, Sushi King Holdings. The transaction, worth about 2.7 billion yen (RM98.4 million) closes in April.

Yoshinoya, known for its gyudon beef-over-rice bowls, invested in Sushi King in 2014 to exchange staff and share expertise. But Malaysia’s lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic depressed demand for restaurant dining.

That pressure has led Yoshinoya to “optimise the business portfolio, including overseas operations, and strategically distribute resources to growth businesses,” according to Wednesday’s news release.

In Japan, Yoshinoya is redesigning its restaurants under the “cooking and comfort” concept, which ditches conventional U-shaped counters for seating with more space. The format has been installed at about 150 locations since its debut in 2015.

Demand for outside dining has dipped in Japan as well, due to restrictions enacted to combat waves of COVID-19 infections. Yoshinoya will respond by allocating resources toward drawing a new base of customers.