Jollibee to merge 3 wholly-owned fastfood units

Jollibee Foods Corp. on Friday said it will merge three of its fastfood chains to simplify operations and improve efficiency. In a statement, Jollibee said that pending the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission, it will consolidate Chowking Food Corp., Greenwich Pizza Corp., and Baker Fresh Foods Philippines Inc. Baker Fresh operates the high end French pastry chain Delifrance. "Jollibee Foods Corp. will merge three corporations as part of its program to simplify its legal structure and improve its administrative efficiency," Jollibee said. The firm said that after the merger, the surviving entity would be Chowking, under the name Fresh N' Famous Foods Inc., which would be the second largest fast food service company in the country next to Jollibee. The net assets of Greenwich and Baker Fresh will be folded into Fresh N' Famous as additional paid-in capital. No share swaps will be undertaken as all firms are 100 percent owned by Jollibee. The firm also owns pastry chain Red Ribbon. Tony Tan Caktiong, chair and chief executive officer of Jollibee, will simultaneously sit as board chair and president of Fresh N' famous. Jollibee, which started as a hamburger booth in 1978, has since evolved to be the country's largest fast food chain operator, with operations the United States, China, Indonesia and Dubai. The firm is also planning to extend operations to India. - GMANews.TV