Philippines' Jollibee buys U.S. restaurant

By Ian C. Sayson and Dominic G. Diongson
Bloomberg News

MANILA — Jollibee Foods Corp., the Philippines' largest fast-food company, acquired a Japanese restaurant in California for $300,000, its first acquisition in the United States since it began opening shops there in 1998.

Jollibee bought 90 percent of Tokyo Teriyaki House, a fast-food business in Vallejo, said Miguel Jose Navarrete, company chief financial officer. The company may open Japanese food outlets in the Philippines, he said.

"It's a one-branch outlet that it probably wants as a template for the Philippines," said Martin Enrile, an analyst at ATR-Kim Eng Securities Inc., who has a "buy" rating on Jollibee.

Jollibee, whose closest rival at home is McDonald's Corp., is expanding overseas to ensure growth as the Philippine market approaches saturation.

It started opening foreign outlets in 1987 and has 24 restaurants in the United States, Hong Kong, Brunei, Guam, Saipan, Vietnam and United Arab Emirates. The company said last year that it hopes to open additional outlets in Hawai'i, but had no specific plans for the move.

Tokyo Teriyaki serves teriyaki steak and sashimi. Jollibee sells hamburgers with a sweet sauce, Chinese noodles, pizza and croissants.

Jollibee and its unit Superior FSC Corp. bought the stake through Tokyo Teriyaki Corp., Navarrete said.

"Japanese food has a wide appeal," Navarrete said. "It's healthy, it's Asian, so there's quite a bit of following. No one's been able to establish a chain domestically and we have the capabilities. That's the opportunity in the future."

In September, Jollibee chairman Tony Tan Caktiong visited the restaurant, a frequent dining spot for some employees at Jollibee's U.S. head office a mile away. Within the next few months the purchase was completed.