MANILA, Philippines — Homegrown Filipino fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) is about to venture in a Chinese dimsum restaurant chain by investing up to S$45 million (P1.74 billion) in private equity fund Titan Dining LP to acquire the master franchise holder of the Tim Ho Wan brand in the Asia Pacific (APAC).

JFC told the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Wednesday, May 9, that the private equity fund has carried out a binding agreement for the purchase of Tim Ho Wan Private Limited alongside its affiliate Dim Sum Private Limited.

Tim Ho Wan Private holds the exclusive long-term master franchise to run Tim Ho Wan within the Asia Pacific region, excluding ones in Hong Kong. Dim Sum Private, on the other hand, owns and operates Tim Ho Wan chains in Singapore.

“This investment gives JFC the opportunity to have a significant interest in the Tim Ho Wan franchise in the long term and will bring very healthy financial returns to [the company],” said Jollibee Food Corporation chairman Tony Tan Caktiong in a press statement.

Tim Ho Wan Private also has food chains in Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, and the Philippines, with further expansions blueprinted in the APAC region.

JFC disclosed to the PSE that there are 40 restaurant chains under Tim Ho Wan Private Limited and Dim Sum Private, both are company-owned and franchised outlets.

Titan, meanwhile, has a fund size of S$100 million (P3.87 billion), of which 45 percent comes from JFC’s planned investment.

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Titan is managed and operated by Titan Dining Partners Limited, composed of experienced individuals with extensive knowledge in the food and beverage sector in the region. Jollibee will be sitting in the investment committee of Titan.

Jollibee claimed that the agreement will enable the corporation itself to have the favorable opportunity to obtain a significant ownership in Tim Ho Wan’s master franchise in the APAC region when the term of the fund ends in seven-years.

To get ready for that, the company will operate as a franchisee of Tim Ho Wan in Shanghai, China.

Tim Ho Wan is a Michelin-star dim sum restaurant chain which originated in Hong Kong back in 2009.

To date, JFC has three brands serving Chinese cuisine – Chowking, Yonghe King, and Hong Zhuang Yuan in China

Jollibee’s 3 Chinese brands accounted for 23 percent of its worldwide sales a year earlier. – The Centrio News