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Jollibee, the expansive Filipino fast-food group, said it would spend $ 100 million to buy The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, an American chain of specialty coffees and teas, as part of its largest acquisition to abroad so far.
The Filipino group said Wednesday in a statement from the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it had signed an agreement to invest the amount in a new Singapore-based holding company that would buy 100% of the US company based in Los Angeles, but has a large presence in Asia.
Tony Tan Caktiong, president of the company, said the purchase would be "the largest and most multinational of the group so far".
Jollibee is the largest fast-food brand in its home market, known for its burgers, fried chicken and spaghetti. It has developed elsewhere in Southeast Asia and the United States during acquisitions and partnerships. The company owns most of the US Smashburger chain, operates Pho 24 coffee and noodle chains in Vietnam, in the Highlands, as well as Dunkin 'Donuts in parts of China and the Burger King brand in the Philippines.
The Latin American-based group that he buys counted 1,189 outlets by the end of 2018, including 447 in Southeast Asia and 336 in other Asian countries, according to the SEC's document announcing the transaction.
In 2017, Jollibee discussed the purchase of the Pret a Manger sandwich chain in Britain without reaching an agreement on a price. In an interview with the Financial Times last year, Ysmael Baysa, chief financial officer of the company, said the company was looking to acquire small and medium businesses, mostly with money.
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