Jollibee to buy Chinese food chain for $50.5M

Jollibee Food Corp., the country’s largest quick service restaurant operator, on Friday said it has agreed to purchase Hongzhuangyuan, a chain of restaurants located mostly in Beijing, China, for an estimated amount of $50.5 million. Hongzhuangyuan will be Jollibee’s second food chain in China, after Yonghe King, a popular restaurant it acquired in 2005. Locally, Jollibee operates the popular Jollibee chain of restaurants, Chowking, Greenwich, Delifrance, Red Ribbon Bakeshop and China’s Yonghe King. “We are encourated by our continued progress in our foreign businesses including Yonghe King in China. Hongzhuangyuan will be a strong addition to our presence in China in terms of market segment and geographical coverage," Tony Tan-Caktiong, Jollibee chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. The statement was enclosed in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange. Jollibee said Hongzhuangyuan has 26 company-owned stores in Beijing and seven franchised stores in other cities in China and has an estimated total sales of $24 million. The PSE has temporarily suspended trading of Jollibee shares because of this most recent disclosure. - GMANews.TV