Jollibee acquires Taiwanese restaurant chain

Philippine fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. announced Friday it had acquired 70 percent of Taiwanese restaurant chain Lao Dong for 61.1 million pesos (1.37 million dollars).

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the publicly-listed Jollibee said that as part of the sale, it would invest an additional 30.6 million pesos while Lao Dong’s owners would put 13.1 million pesos into the new joint venture.

The new venture will work to expand Lao Dong’s restaurant chain in Taiwan and China.

The owners of Lao Dong will help Jollibee develop food products and other services for its business units in China, the Philippines and other countries.

Jollibee is the biggest restaurant chain in the Philippines, operating almost 1,500 outlets for its signature Jollibee hamburgers along with pizzas, baked goods, French pastries and other dishes.

It has 194 outlets abroad including China, the United States, Dubai and Indonesia.

Lao Dong, a full-service restaurant specialising in noodles, has eight outlets in Taipei, the disclosure said.

Last year, Jollibee Foods Corp. acquired the Chinese restaurant chain Hongzhuangyuan for about 50.5 million dollars.