Currently savoring the positive impact of its recently acquired Compose Coffee in South Korea, Asian food and beverage giant Jollibee Foods Corporation is reportedly acquiring Korean fried chicken chain owner Norang Food for $95 million in August this year.

According to The Korea Times, Jollibee’s Korean subsidiary has been selected as the preferred bidder to acquire full ownership of the Norang Tongdak (yellow chicken) franchise from private equity firms Corstone Asia and Q Capital Partners.

Abacus Securities Corporation, the deal is valued at about 10 times its 2023 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).

“This is the second entry of JFC into the South Korean market after its Compose Coffee acquisition last year, which was worth about $340 million.

“Both franchise-heavy acquisitions are looking in line with JFC's ambitions of tripling its net income by 2028 and are focusing on growing its international business through an asset-light or franchising model,” it noted.

Abacus added that, “Norang Food was also said to have grown its operating profits by 11 percent last year, better than JFC International's average.”

While the acquisition is relatively smaller compared to Compose Coffee, the brokerage said this continues to be a step in the right direction for JFC in achieving its 2028 targets.

Chinabank Capital Corporation Managing Director Juan Paolo Colet said “Jollibee is clearly bullish on the Korean market and, in the case of Norang Tongdak, Korean fried chicken.”

“The acquisition is also consistent with Jollibee’s aim to generate 50 percent of revenues from its international business,” he added.

Unicapital Securities Research Analyst Jeri R. Alfonso said “JFC continues to expand its footprint in the Korean market, and we view the move as strategically sound and potentially value-accretive.

“For one, Norang Tongdak’s store count has jumped from 400 in 2020 to over 750 today, which points to strong momentum and brand acceptance.”

She noted that, “While this latest expansion may not match the scale of Compose Coffee, leaning into markets where they are already performing well is the right call, especially with certain regions still dealing with tariff-related headwinds.”

For the first quarter of 2025, Jollibee reported that its international business delivered strong system-wide sales (SWS) performance, bolstered by the acquisition of Compose Coffee, which contributed 17.8 percent to the international business' SWS growth.

JFC’s Coffee and Tea segment — now comprising 45.4 percent of the international business' SWS —recorded a 62.2 percent increase, with Compose Coffee accounting for 49 percent of this growth.