MANILA: Jollibee Foods Corp, Philippines’ largest food service network operator, is buying US brand Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) for $100 million as part of an expansion outside its home market.
Jollibee, which has a market value of nearly $5.5 billion, is buying loss-making CBTL from private equity firm Advent International and other investors including the Sassoon family, a large shareholder in CBTL.
Los Angeles-based CBTL has 1,189 outlets spread across the United States, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and is rapidly growing in Asia. Nearly three-fourths of its outlets are franchised.
Jollibee will invest $100 million for an 80 percent share in a Singapore holding company that will acquire CBTL. The remaining 20 percent stake will be owned by Jollibee’s partner in its Vietnam coffee and restaurant business.
As part of the transaction, Jollibee will fork out another $250 million, a portion of which was allotted to pay CBTL’s debt. The amount will be paid back by the holding company.
“The acquisition of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will be Jollibee’s largest and most multinational so far with business presence in 27 countries,” Jollibee Chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said in a statement on Wednesday.
The deal allows Jollibee to be a key player in the large, fast-growing and profitable coffee business, said Tan Caktiong, adding that the priority is to accelerate Coffee Bean’s growth in Asia. The acquisition will add 14 percent to Jollibee’s global system-wide sales and 26 percent to its total store network, he said.
“They really want to diversify their income stream. At the same time it is a business they know,” said Robert Ramos, senior vice president and trust officer of Eastwest Bank in Manila.
Jollibee believes higher income in the Philippines will support spending on higher-end products like specialty coffee, said Ramos, who helps manage 30 billion pesos ($585.94 million), including an index fund that holds Jollibee shares.
Known for its sweet-style spaghetti, burgers and fried chicken, Jollibee is dominant in the Philippines, outselling McDonald’s and Yum Brands’ KFC. It operates the largest fast-food chain in the Southeast Asian nation with 3,195 restaurants.
Jollibee also has 1,418 stores across various brands overseas. It is expanding overseas, including in China and the United States, by investing in restaurant chains catering to local tastes.
CBTL posted $312.95 million in revenues and $21 million in net losses last year. It had debt of $83.56 million as of end-2018.
Philippines’ Jollibee buying Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in overseas expansion
Philippines’ Jollibee buying Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in overseas expansion
- CBTL has 1,189 outlets spread across the United States, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and is rapidly growing in Asia
- The deal allows Jollibee to be a key player in the large, fast-growing and profitable coffee business
Using space science to protect Saudi Arabia’s environment
- Kingdom is harnessing satellite technology to forecast disasters, boost agriculture
RIYADH: Learning space science has delivered significant environmental benefits worldwide, helping many countries better understand and manage climate challenges.
Saudi Arabia is now taking steps not only to explore the galaxy but also to invest in future generations who can apply space science to pressing environmental issues at home.
Last November, the Space Academy, part of the Saudi Space Agency, launched a series of seminars designed to enhance knowledge and develop skills in space science and technology, with a particular focus on Earth observation.
Running for nearly a month, the program formed part of a broader strategy to nurture national talent, raise scientific awareness, and build data capabilities that support innovation and research across the Kingdom.
As efforts to strengthen the sector continue, important questions remain: How can space science translate into tangible environmental benefits? And how large is the global space economy?
In an interview with Arab News, Fahad Alhussain, co-founder of SeedFord, highlighted the scale of the opportunity and its environmental impact.
“To be frank, the slogan that we always use in space is that ‘saving the Earth from the space.’ It is all about this,” Alhusain told Arab News.
“You can recall a lot of related environmental issues like global warming, related to forests, related to the damage that happens to the environment. Without space, it would be almost impossible to see the magnitude of these damages.”
According to Alhussain, satellites have transformed how experts observe environmental changes on Earth, offering a comprehensive view that was previously impossible.
He said that “the transformation of technology allows even the non-optical ways of measuring, assessing, and discovering what is going on in the environment … you can even anticipate fire before it happens in the forest.”
“You can detect the ice-melt down, you can get huge amount of information and can see it through the weather maps…there is a huge section in the economy for the environment,” Alhussain commented.
A 2022 report by Ryan Brukardt, a senior partner at McKinsey & Company, published by McKinsey Quarterly, found that more than 160 satellites currently monitor Earth to assess the impacts of global warming and detect activities such as illegal logging.
Brukardt cited NASA as an example of how advanced satellite tools are used to track environmental changes, including shifts in ocean conditions, cloud cover, and precipitation patterns. He also noted that satellite data can help governments determine when immediate action is needed, particularly in response to wildfires.
FASTFACT
Did You Know?
- Satellites collect massive amounts of data, and AI is used to help interpret this information more efficiently and predict future outcomes.
- The global space economy surpassed $600 billion in 2024 and is projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2030.
- Saudi Arabia has established three key entities: the Supreme Space Council, the Saudi Space Agency, and the Communications, Space, and Technology Commission.
Beyond disaster response, satellites offer vital insights for agriculture. According to Brukardt’s report, scientists can use space-based data to monitor crop development and anticipate threats to harvests, such as drought or insect infestations.
These wide-ranging applications explain the rapid growth of the global space economy.
According to World Economic Forum research, the sector is projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035, nearly tripling from $630 billion in 2023.
For Saudi Arabia, expanding space science capabilities could help address the country’s arid conditions by monitoring desertification and identifying sources of air pollution. Early detection of droughts, heatwaves, and crop stress could support more effective environmental planning and response.
Space-based data could also play a critical role in tracking environmental changes in the Red Sea and surrounding coastal ecosystems, strengthening marine conservation efforts and supporting the Sustainable Development Agenda.
As Alhussain emphasized, advancing knowledge in space science and satellite technology enables experts to measure environmental damage accurately and predict disasters before they occur, allowing for more effective responses.
By investing in space science education and research, the Kingdom can build national expertise, strengthen environmental protection policies, enhance food and water security, and contribute to global efforts to combat climate change—while also benefiting from the rapidly expanding space economy.
Ultimately, a deeper understanding of space and its applications offers Saudi Arabia, and the world, better tools to anticipate climate challenges, protect ecosystems, and safeguard biodiversity.
“By collecting data and using satellites, you can better analyze and measure so many things that help the environment,” said Alhussain.
“There will be patterns where you can warn people, scientists and decision makers to do something about it.”
