Jollibee to redeem $600-M perpetual securities

JOLLIBEE FOODS Corp. (JFC) is set to redeem its $600-million guaranteed senior perpetual capital securities on Jan. 23, the company announced on Thursday.

The issuance will be redeemed through JFC’s subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. (JWPL), the listed food service company said in a stock exchange disclosure.

The securities were issued on Jan. 23, 2020, under the $600-million guaranteed senior perpetual capital offering circular.

“Upon redemption of the securities, the securities will be canceled and subsequently delisted from the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd.,” JFC said.

“The redemption price will be the principal amount of the securities, plus any accrued but unpaid distributions and any arrears of distribution, including any amount of distributions accrued thereon,” it added.

JFC said in a previous disclosure that the proceeds from the issuance were used to refinance the short-term debt from the acquisition of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) brand completed on Sept. 24, 2019, as well as to fund initiatives aligned with JWPL’s general corporate purposes.

The fast food giant bought CBTL for $350 million to expand its brand portfolio.

“The objective of management for this issuance is to further strengthen the balance sheet of JFC to build a stronger foundation for accelerating its growth in order to achieve its vision to become one of the top five restaurant companies in the world,” JFC said.

“This transaction represents the first-ever bond or perpetual securities issuance from JFC and the first time that JFC has tapped the capital markets since its initial public offering in 1993. This issuance is one of the first by an Asian restaurant company,” it added.

JFC grew its nine-month attributable net income by 24.1% to P8.47 billion as revenue climbed by 10.6% to P196.25 billion, led by the acquisition of South Korea’s Compose Coffee brand.

As of the end of September, JFC increased its store network by 42.8% to 9,598, with 3,340 domestic stores and 6,258 international branches.

Of the international stores, JFC has 568 in China, 381 in North America, 362 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia (EMEAA), 815 with Highlands Coffee, 1,219 with CBTL, 333 with Milksha, and 2,580 with Compose Coffee.

JFC shares fell by 1.54%, or P4, to P256 per share on Thursday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave