94Ha Viewpoint
Jollibee Foods Corporation, a Philippine fast food chain that has grown from an ice cream shop to a fast food chain and expanded to a coffee shop chain and a Hong Kong dim sum chain, has become a global catering giant. Recently, it announced the full acquisition of Hong Kong dim sum chain Tim Ho Wan, making it its wholly-owned subsidiary.
Jollibee Corporation recently revealed (November 5) that it has signed a contract to purchase the remaining unowned shares of the Tim Ho Wan chain, increasing its shareholding from 92% to 100%, making Tim Ho Wan its wholly-owned subsidiary. The purchase price of this 8% stake is 20.2 million yuan, which also means that Tim Ho Wan’s valuation has reached 253 million yuan.
Jollibee founder Tan Jue-chung and his family opened an ice cream shop in Coburg, Philippines in 1975, which later became the first Jollibee restaurant.
Jollibee is mainly engaged in the fast food chain industry, providing traditional American fast food such as hot dogs, hamburgers and fried chicken. The company has grown into a global restaurant giant through its own expansion, joint ventures and a series of overseas acquisitions over the years. It currently owns or operates thousands of stores under 19 brands around the world.
In 2019, Jollibee spent US$350 million (S$470 million) to acquire the American coffee chain The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
In 2018, Jollibee spent US$33.5 million to buy a 45% stake in the Tim Ho Wan Asia Pacific franchise and Tim Ho Wan Singapore, and plans to increase its stake to 100% within seven years. Since January this year, it has held a 92% stake in Tim Ho Wan. With the recent announcement, it will own 100% of the Tim Ho Wan chain in January next year.
Tim Ho Wan was founded in 2009 by Hong Kong catering industry figure Mak Kwai Pui. It specializes in “steamed-to-order” dim sum, including crispy barbecued pork buns, turnip cakes and glutinous rice chicken. It opened a branch in Singapore in 2013 and currently has 80 stores in 11 countries and regions.
