Clouds in my coffee

Sale of stake in Mideast Starbucks franchise held up by protests

Starbucks, McDonalds, KFC and other U.S. brands have been the target of protests in the region since the Gaza war started almost a year ago

the circuit-circuit-starbucks

Starbucks branch in Abu Dhabi (Getty Images)

The sale of a minority stake in the Middle East Starbucks franchise owned by Kuwait’s AlShaya Group, which has drawn interest from Apollo Global Management and other international firms, appears to have been paused.

AlShaya, which owns some...