Jollibee gobbles up Tim Ho Wan after buying out partners’ stakes
The company is looking to aggressively expand the brand in China, eyeing to reach 100 restaurants within the next four years.
Philippine fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) has agreed to take full control of Michelin-star Asian restaurant chain Tim Ho Wan (THW) by buying out the shares held by the remaining minority stockholders.
In an announcement, JFC’s wholly-owned subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. (JWPL), which owns 85% Titan Dining LP — the private equity fund which ultimately owns the THW brand and company-owned THW stores, signed a deal to purchase the remaining 15% stake held by other investors for S$71.56 million (approx. US$ 52.6 million).
THW operates 53 outlets in Asia, a majority of which are franchised. It has twelve stores each in Singapore and Taiwan, seven in the Philippines and six in Hong Kong, where the brand started.
JFC earlier declared an aggressive expansion with THW in China, eyeing to reach 100 restaurant outlets within the next four years. Currently, there are four outlets in Shanghai.
The company first invested in THW in May 2018 through JWPL worth S$45 million in Titan Dining, the brand’s master franchisee in the Asia-Pacific region, in exchange for a 45% participating interest. It then increased the stake to 60% in 2019 and to 85% at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
“JFC aims to build as an important part of its portfolio a significant business serving Chinese cuisine in different parts of the world,” the company said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Aside from THW, JFC already has Chowking, Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan and Panda Express serving Chinese cuisine.
JFC swung to profitability in Q2, having reported a 109.4% jump in net income for the first half of 2021 to PHP 1.13 billion (approx. US$22.3 million) from a net loss of PHP 11.96 billion in the same period last year.
System-wide sales for the first half were up 14.5% to P98.3 billion from P85.83 billion.
