The group takes away loss-making Oliver's for a bargain price
Cafe de Coral Holdings, which operates the world's largest Chinese fast-food network, has taken a bite out of the western food market by acquiring the loss-making Oliver's Super Sandwiches chain from Jardine Matheson Holdings at a price equivalent to the value of a middle-market flat.
The acquisition, the first after the ravaging of Hong Kong's fast-food and restaurant sector by the Sars outbreak, has ended the Jardine group's involvement in the 'made-to-order' sandwich and salad operation in Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines.
After about three months of negotiations, Cafe de Coral signed an agreement with Jardines on Wednesday to acquire the Oliver's chain's 15 restaurants in Hong Kong, six outlets in Malaysia and nine in the Philippines.
Under the agreement, Jardines will terminate the employment contracts of Oliver's 200 staff, with Cafe de Coral agreeing to re-employ them in line with its own salary scheme.
To control costs, Cafe de Coral chairman Michael Chan Yue-kwong said the group would ask landlords to lower rents for all the sandwich outlets by up to 50 per cent.
Mr Chan refused to disclose the price tag for the sandwich chain but said: 'We paid far below the $7 million estimated value for Oliver's.'