That's a way for McDonalds to make more money for McDonalds shareholders (at the expense of a private franchisee who's well aware who he's leasing from and probably feels more secure leasing the location from someone that isn't going to turf him out for a higher rent offer from KFC). From a MCD investor point of view, them owning the real estate and earning money on that too is a good thing. It's a bit different from a hypothetical scenario in which McDonalds picks locations personally owned by McDonalds' CEO Steve Easterbrook, in a manner which probably tends to benefit him personally far more than McDonalds' shareholders.