The Philippine-owned Jollibee Foods Corporation said Wednesday that its subsidiary JSF Investments had signed an agreement to sell the stake in SF Vung Tau Jsc, the operator of the coffee chain in Vietnam, to Viet Thai International Jsc, a company controlled by Thai.
Jollibee said the transaction forms part of its portfolio management strategy of building businesses, expanding their scale, and optimizing their ownership stakes once they are mature enough to attract outside capital.
It expects to use the cash to reduce debt, reinvest in growth businesses, or return money to shareholders.
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David Thai, CEO and founder of Highlands Coffee in a compilation photo with the chain’s logo. Photos by Read/Tat Dat, Quang Tue |
After the transaction, Jollibee will retain a 49% stake in Highlands Coffee while Thai’s company will increase its holding from 40% to 51% to become the controlling shareholder.
The deal values Highlands Coffee at around $800 million, which Jollibee said is significantly higher than when it had bought the stake.
It had paid $25 million in 2012 for 49% of the coffeehouse chain’s Vietnam business. It also owns 60% of Highlands Coffee’s Hong Kong operations.
Thai told Read in April 2025, however, that he remained responsible for operations and personnel management, and Jollibee was an investor and strategic adviser that did not participate in day-to-day business operations.
With Jollibee’s capital, Highlands Coffee expanded rapidly and became Vietnam’s largest cafe chain. As of June, it had 1,062 outlets in Vietnam and overseas, both company-operated and franchised.
Highlands Coffee posted second-quarter EBITDA of more than 1 billion pesos, up more than 70% from a year earlier and its highest ever.
The brand has become increasingly important to Jollibee: its earnings rank second only to those of another chain, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and it contributes more than 8.6% of the group’s profits.
As it expands, Highlands Coffee is considering an initial public offering, expected in the first quarter of 2027.