Jollibee Foods Corporation’s (JFC) wholly owned subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. (JWPL) is increasing its investment in the private equity fund which owns the Tim Ho Wan brand and company-owned Tim Ho Wan stores.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm announced its additional capital call commitment to Titan Dining LP which will increase its fund size from SGD$250 million to S$350 million.
The additional capital will be used to fund the store expansion plans and working capital requirements of Tim Ho Wan as well as facilitate the completion of other projects.
JWPL has a 90 percent participating interest in Titan. With the increase in fund size, JWPL’s total commitment to the fund shall amount to S$315 million.
JFC invested S$45 million in Titan in May 2018 to own a 45 percent participating interest in Titan which was the master franchisee of Tim Ho Wan in the Asia Pacific region.
JFC stated at that time that by investing in the fund, it would have the opportunity to acquire a substantial ownership of Tim Ho Wan’s master franchise in the Asia Pacific region through a purchase mechanism provided for in the investment agreement.
To prepare for this eventuality, JFC set up a franchise operation of Tim Ho Wan in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China (PRC).
In October 2019, JFC disclosed that JWPL’s capital commitment to Titan increased from S$45 million to S$120 million, its participating interest increased to 60 percent and the fund size of Titan increased from S$100 million to S$200 million.
Titan also expanded its assets by acquiring at about this time the Tim Ho Wan brand and trademarks.
In October 2020, JFC’s participating interest in Titan increased further from 60 percent to 85 percent after JWPL purchased the 25 percent participating interest of another investor in the fund for a total consideration of S$36.3 million.
In August 2021, JFC purchased the remaining 15 percent of other investors in Titan.
On November 1, 2021, JWPL entered into an amended Limited Partnership Agreement with Titan to increase the fund size to S$250 million.
Additional investors also joined the fund with a 10 percent participating interest in Titan. JWPL’s total commitment increased to S$225 million which comprised 90 percent of the increased fund size and total commitments.
JFC’s joint venture with Titan now has 11 restaurants in the PRC, mostly in Shanghai. JFC plans to aggressively expand Tim Ho Wan in Mainland China with a target of reaching 100 restaurant outlets within the next four years.
Tim Ho Wan operates a total of 67 outlets in Asia, mostly franchised stores with the largest concentration in China 32 (11 in PRC, 12 in Taiwan, 6 in Hong Kong and 3 in Macau), Singapore 13 and Philippines 7.
JFC aims to build as an important part of its portfolio a significant business serving Chinese cuisine in different parts of the world.
Meanwhile, the Jollibee Group, led by its President and CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong, recently welcomed Canada’s International Trade Minister Mary Ng to the Jollibee Group Headquarters in Ortigas, Pasig City to discuss areas of cooperation in line with Jollibee Group’s expansion plans in Canada.
Minister Ng was joined by Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Peter MacArthur and a team of trade commissioners during their visit to the Jollibee Group Headquarters.
“We are honored to welcome The Honorable Minister Ng, His Excellency Ambassador MacArthur, and their delegation to the Jollibee Group and discuss opportunities for cooperation in line with our business operations and expansion plans in Canada,” said Tanmantiong.
He added that, “We opened our first store in Canada in Winnipeg in December 2016. Now we have 24 stores in Canada spread across the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. We remain grateful for the support of Canadian communities and its government as we continue to expand in the country.”
“We have seen locals and newcomers embrace Jollibee that is fast becoming a household name in Canada. We are happy and excited to hear Jollibee Group’s expansion plans in the country,” said Minister Ng during the meeting.
This year, Jollibee opened three stores in Canada, and is set to open two more in Vancouver, British Columbia by the end of 2022 at Strawberry Hills Shopping Centre in Surrey and Cambie Street.