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Philippine fast food giant Jollibee spends US$350 million to buy Coffee Bean

  • Jollibee has 1,150 outlets in the Philippines, and a bigger share of the Philippine market than its two biggest competitors combined
  • Singapore’s wealthy Sassoon family are shareholders of the Coffee Bean chain, having brought the brand to Asia

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Jollibee has 1,150 outlets in the Philippines, and a bigger share of the Philippine market than its two biggest competitors combined. Photo: Reuters
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Jollibee Foods, a major Asian fast food operator, will spend US$350 million to purchase Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL).

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Jollibee will invest US$100 million for an 80 per cent stake in a Singapore venture set up with Vietnamese partners to acquire CBTL. The remaining 20 per cent stake will be owned by Jollibee’s partner in its Vietnam coffee and restaurant business. Jollibee will invest another US$250 million, which will be paid back by the holding company.

“The acquisition of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will be Jollibee’s largest and most multinational so far with business presence in 27 countries,” Jollibee chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said in a statement, adding that the acquisition will add 14 per cent to its global system-wide sales and 26 per cent to its total store network.

Jollibee has 1,150 outlets in the Philippines, and a bigger share of the Philippine market than its two biggest competitors combined, as well as 234 overseas outlets in 15 territories. It is the 24th-largest fast food chain globally – including coffee chains – by number of branches, and fifth among companies not from the US.

Los Angeles-based CBTL has 1,189 outlets spread across the US, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and is rapidly growing in Asia. Nearly three-fourths of its outlets are franchised.

Singapore’s wealthy Sassoon family are shareholders of CBTL, having brought the brand to Asia, and are widely credited for fuelling the trend of Western-style coffee in the region.

The family’s move into coffee came about after Victor Sassoon, a former concert tour promoter, met pop singer Paula Abdul in Los Angeles while visiting his brother Sunny.

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When Sassoon mentioned he was thinking about bringing Coffee Bean to Singapore, Abdul told him “this is the greatest product in the world. You’ve got to get this company”, according to a story in The New York Times in 2000.

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