Jollibee completes takeover of Taiwan restaurant chain

Jollibee Foods Corp. yesterday said it completed the acquisition of a 70-percent stake in Lao Dong, a Taipei-based restaurant.

Jollibee said in a disclosure to the stock exchange that it would acquire 70 percent of Lao Dong for P61.1 million (NT42 million) and an additional investment of P30.6 million.

Jollibee earlier said it bought the restaurant chain to pursue the further expansion of the Lao Dong group in Taiwan and introduce the brand in China.

Lao Dong, a full service restaurant with beef noodles as core product, has eight stores and a commissary in Taiwan. It has annual sales of NT 121 million and is making a profit.

Lao Dong was founded in 1950 by Liu Cheng Hsiung and Liu Mei Chin.

It is the fourth foreign restaurant acquired by the Jollibee group. It earlier bought Yonghe King, Chun Shui Tang tea house and Hongzhuangyuan, all based in China.

JJollibee operates various fastfood chains in the Philippines, including its flagship restaurant Jollibee, Chowking, Red Ribbon, Greenwich, Delifrance and Mang Pepe.

The company earlier reported that net income in the first nine months of 2008 dipped 9.7 percent to P1.63 billion from P1.81 billion year-on-year due to the rising cost of raw materials and utilities.

Sales revenue during the period hit P31.65 billion, up 13.1 percent year-on- year.

Jollibee expects the company’s financial conditions to improve in the coming period as prices of raw materials and utilities stabilizes.–Jenniffer B. Austria, Manila Standard Today