New Delhi, Nov. 4 -- Renowned coffee chain Starbucks Corp. gave the nod to sell a majority stake of its China business to private equity firm Boyu Capital for $4 billion with the aim to improve its business in the country.

Boyu Capital will own a 60% stake in Starbucks' retail operations in China through a joint venture with the coffee seller, the companies said in a statement. Starbucks will retain the rest 40% stake and will continue to license the brand and intellectual property to the joint venture.

The agreement concludes a search for a partner to guide Starbucks through its next phase in China, where it has approximately 8,000 stores since opening its first location in Beijing in 1999. Recently, Starbucks has faced challenges simi...