Singapore fried chicken chain 4Fingers has acquired a 50 per cent stake in Australian firm Mad Mex Fresh Mexican Grill for an undisclosed sum.

The partnership involves 4Fingers initially establishing Mad Mex's presence in South-east Asia with the aim of opening a number of outlets in Singapore and Malaysia in the next 12 months.

4Fingers has already shortlisted a number of potential locations in both countries for the Mad Mex roll-out but did not give details.

It said in a statement that its brand acquisition strategy will enable the group to continue to "aggressively scale up its management bandwidth and further capitalise on supply chain, menu innovation, shared services and other scale economies".

Mad Mex is a leading quick-service restaurant brand in Australia, according to a Roy Morgan survey in March.

It also has a strong presence in New Zealand, specialising in authentic Mexican fare synonymous with healthy and fresh food.

Mr Clovis Young, Mad Mex's founder and former majority shareholder, will remain as chief executive of Mad Mex and retain a 50 per cent stake in the business.

He will continue to lead Mad Mex in its next stage of growth, including its expansion outside of Australia and New Zealand.

4Fingers director Vijay Sethu said: "Mad Mex is the second key brand in the 4Fingers Group.

"We are currently on the lookout for a third brand to complete this platform, a brand with similar characteristics to 4Fingers and Mad Mex - strong, established, profitable and fast-growing that is easily scalable and has global potential."

4Fingers and Mad Mex operate around 100 outlets across Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Thailand.

The group projects total revenues of around $120 million for the 2019 financial year.