Fast-food king Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) has completed a buy-in deal with a regional food group that manages a chain of Highlands Coffee, Hard Rock Cafe stores and Pho24 restaurants, thus raising its expansion rate in Asia..
Through subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd., JFC declared the consummation of its acquisition of 50 percent of the businesses of SuperFoods Group, which comprise of a 49-percent stake in Vietnam-based SF Vung Tau Joint Stock Co. and a 60-percent share in Hong Kong-based Blue Sky Holding Ltd.
The deal will cost JFC $25 million for the 50 percent stake in SuperFoods alone. But, inclusive in the deal is an extension of a $35-million loan to its partner Viet Thai International Joint Stock Co. (VTI) through their joint venture in SuperFoods. Furthermore, JFC has also released in advance $5 million to the SuperFoods group.
Earning $30 million in annual sales, the SuperFoods Group operates 56 Highlands Coffee stores in Vietnam, and Pho24 stores in Vietnam (48), Indonesia (11), Hong Kong (4), Japan (3), the Philippines (2), and Cambodia (1). It also handles a number of Hard Rock Cafe-franchised stores in Macau, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
The key leading player in the Philippine quick-service restaurant industry, JFC which is increasingly heightening its operations abroad, now has a total of 2,003 restaurants in the Philippines and 2,471 restaurants worldwide.
With supporting reports from Inquirer.net
