Jollibee reportedly in talks to sell minority stake in Highlands Coffee

Highlands Coffee currently operates 562 outlets in Vietnam | Photo credit: Highlands Coffee

Filipino food company Jollibee Food Corporation is reportedly seeking to sell a minority stake in Vietnamese coffee chain Highlands Coffee.
 

According to a Reuters report, Jollibee is considering selling a 10-15% stake in the company. The potential sale could value Highlands Coffee at approximately $800m. 

Sources close to the matter suggested the sale could lead to an IPO launch for the coffee chain, which Jollibee has been considering for several years, according to the report. 

Highlands Coffee opened 37 stores in the three months ended 30 September 2022 to reach 562 outlets in Vietnam. The brand strongly contributed to Jollibee’s 47% international sales growth. 

Jollibee also owns The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf coffee chain, which has 1,053 stores, and Taiwanese bubble tea café chain Milksha, which has 278 outlets. 

World Coffee Portal research forecasts Vietnam’s branded coffee shop market will exceed 5,100 outlets by 2025. 

Domestic coffee chain and roaster Trung Nguyen is building upon the success of its 77-strong café chain, Trung Nguyen Legend, opening its first international outlet in China in September 2022. 

Meanwhile, Masan Group increased its majority stake in Phuc Long Coffee & Tea to 84% in August 2022. The Vietnamese retail conglomerate is incorporating the coffee chain’s kiosk format in its new WINLife store rollout.  

In November 2022, Masan Group said Phuc Long Coffee & Tea kiosks inside the first wave of WIN stores contributed to daily revenue growth of 116% compared to kiosks in its standalone WinMart+ stores.  

In the same month domestic retail group Seedcom announced that its The Coffee House brand achieved year-on-year sales growth of 53% to reach VND 564bn ($22.7m). The Coffee House revenues now comprise 37% of Seedcom’s total sales.