Jollibee, famous for its fried chicken, completes acquisition of Michelin starred Tim Ho Wan with eye on global expansion
- Jollibee Worldwide, a unit of JFC’s, has completed the acquisition of Hong Kong-based Tim Ho Wan
- China is JFC’s second-largest market and is playing an important role in generating revenue during the Covid-19 pandemic
Jollibee Worldwide, a unit of JFC’s, completed the acquisition of Hong Kong-based Tim Ho Wan last month by paying S$71.56 million (US$53.25 million) for a 15 per cent share that it did not yet own, to private-equity fund Titan Dining, which held the restaurant’s master franchise. It now owns 100 per cent of Tim Ho Wan.
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China is JFC’s second-largest market after the Philippines. And with the Philippine market still hobbled by lockdowns to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, China is playing an important role in generating revenue for the company.
Its China operations tempered losses last year as it was the only market where all of its stores had reopened as of end of 2020. JFC swung to a loss of 11.5 billion pesos (US$230 million) last year from a net income of 7.3 billion pesos in 2019, according to information available with the Philippine stock exchange.
In the first half of 2021, JFC posted net income of 1.1 billion pesos, reversing a loss of 11.9 billion pesos in the same period a year ago. In the April to June period, same store sales growth in China matched that of the Philippines, at 48 per cent, and were the highest among JFC’s overseas markets, according to its filing with the Philippine bourse.
