Jollibee Foods completes $350-M purchase of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) on Tuesday announced the completion of its $350-million purchase of Los Angeles-based The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL).

In a regulatory filing submitted by JFC vice president Valerie Amante, the homegrown fast-food giant said that the 100% acquisition of CBTL was completed on Sept. 24 after obtaining necessary government approvals in the US and meeting the closing conditions provided under the purchase agreement.

The total consideration for the purchase is $350 million on a debt-free basis, meaning the acquired business will have no debt upon acquisition.

The acquiring entity is Java Ventures LLC, a US-based wholly owned subsidiary of Super Magnificent Coffee Company Pte. Ltd. (SMCC Singapore).

SMCC Singapore is a subsidiary of Jollibee Worldwide Pte Ltd.

The payment for the acquisition is funded by proceeds from bridge loans entered into by Jollibee Worldwide with several financial institutions, according to JFC.

The CBTL brand is JFC’s largest and most multinational acquisition with business presence in 27 countries.

“This will add 14% to its global system wide sales, 26% to its total store network, will bring international business’ contribution to 36% of worldwide sales and will bring JFC closer to its vision to be one of the top 5 restaurant companies in the world in terms of market capitalization,” it said.

Combined with Highlands Coffee—doing business mostly in Vietnam—the CBTL acquisition will enable JFC to become an important player in the fast growing and profitable coffee business, the company said.

CBTL is JFC’s second largest business after the Jollibee brand, and the coffee business will account for 14% of JFC’s worldwide system sales.

As at August 31, 2019, CBTL had 1,180 outlets of which 336 are company-owned and 844 are franchised.

JFC operates 3,226 restaurant outlets in the country. It has a global network of 4,663 stores. —Ted Cordero/VDS, GMA News