Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) on Wednesday said its wholly owned subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. (JWPL) will raise its funding commitment to Titan Dining LP, the private equity fund which owns the Tim Ho Wan brand and company-owned Tim Ho Wan stores.
The fund size of Titan will increase to S$350 million from S$250 million to fund the store expansion plans and working capital requirements of Tim Ho Wan and to facilitate the completion of other projects.
JWPL has a 90 percent participating interest in Titan. With the increase in fund size, JWPL’s total commitment to the fund will amount to S$315 million.
Jollibee first invested S$45 million in Titan in May 2018 to own a 45 percent participating interest in Titan which was the master franchisee of Tim Ho Wan in the Asia Pacific region. Jollibee said at the time that by investing in the fund, it would have the opportunity to acquire a substantial ownership of Tim Ho Wan’s master franchise in the Asia Pacific region through a purchase mechanism provided for in the investment agreement.
To prepare for this eventuality, Jollibee set up a franchise operation of Tim Ho Wan in Shanghai, China.
Meanwhile, Jollibee President and CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong recently welcomed Canada’s International Trade Minister Mary Ng to the Jollibee Group Headquarters in Ortigas, Pasig to discuss areas of cooperation in line with the company’s expansion plans in Canada.
Ng was in the Philippines for a brief visit aimed at strengthening ties with the country, which includes $12 million in development assistance to fund three projects in the Philippines.
“We opened our first store in Canada in Winnipeg in December 2016. Now we have 24 stores in Canada spread across the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. We remain grateful for the support of Canadian communities and its government as we continue to expand in the country,” Tanmantiong said.
“We have seen locals and newcomers embrace Jollibee that is fast becoming a household name in Canada. We are happy and excited to hear Jollibee Group’s expansion plans in the country,” Ng said.
This year, Jollibee opened three stores in Canada, and is set to open two more in Vancouver, British Columbia by the end of 2022 at Strawberry Hills Shopping Centre in Surrey and Cambie Street.