IHOP embarks on Middle East expansion

DineEquity Inc. is adding IHOP locations overseas in an aggressive push into nine countries in the Middle East, the company said Monday.

IHOP Franchise Company LLC has signed a franchise agreement with an affiliate of Kuwait-based M.H. Alshaya Co. WLL to develop 40 restaurants over the next five years in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Egypt.

The move marks IHOP’s first major expansion outside North America and repr