Jollibee adding Highlands Coffee, Hard Rock Café and Pho 24 restos to its holdings

Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) is in the process of acquiring a 50 percent stake in Vietnam-based SuperFoods Group, which owns Highlands Coffee and operates Highlands Coffee Shops, Pho 24 restaurants, as well as Hard Rock Café’ franchised stores in Macau, Hong Kong and Vietnam.   JFC said in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday that its joint venture with the Viet Thai International Joint Stock Company (VTI) “aims to offer Asian mass consumers high quality coffee and café experience at affordable prices through the Highlands Coffee Shops and Highlands Packaged Products.   SuperFoods recently acquired the Pho 24 brand and restaurants. JFC that “the annual sales of the SuperFoods Group amounts to about $30 million."   JFC also said they also seek to “serve the Asian mass consumers high quality Vietnamese food at affordable prices through the Pho 24 brand and restaurants.”   The SuperFoods investment is in line with a “Framework Agreement” JFC reached with the Viet Thai International on May 20, 2011. JFC said the process for owning 50 percent of SuperFoods was formally initiated Wednesday by its wholly-owned subsidiary, JSF Investments Pte Ltd.   That pact called for a joint venture between the two food businesses and called for JFC to invest $25 million for 50 percent of SuperFoods and loan to VTI $35 million to VTI. JFC said it has advanced $5 million to SuperFoods.   Highlands Coffee Shops has 54 stores in Vietnam while Pho 24 has 2 restaurants in the Philippines, 48 in Vietnam, and 19 in other Asian countries.   Franchising rights for Highlands Coffee Shops in the Philippines was given to IP Ventures Inc. on December 20 via an agreement between IP Ventures and Blue Sky Holdings. IP Ventures operates Netopia, “the largest chain of Internet cafés in the Philippines” which has 116 outlets nationwide. — ELR/KG, GMA News