A private investment company of the bilyonaryo Gokongwei family has entered into a strategic partnership with the Pos by investing P1.25 billion in Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc.
The investment will give JE Holdings a nine percent stake in Shakey’s, further bolstering the restaurant chain operator’s expansion plans both here and abroad.
JE Holdings will acquire newly-issued shares at a price of P8.20 per share, representing a 10 percent premium over Shakey’s latest stock price and 14.6 percent higher than the latest 45-day volume weighed average.
Shares of Shakeys rose as much as 7.3 percent to P8 in mid-trading Wednesday. It is now doing P7.85 per share.
With the investment, JE Holdings chairman and president Lance Gokongwei, will join Shakey’s nine-man board in July.
“I’ve always been a fan of the Shakey’s brand and look forward to working with both the board and management to further the company’s growth and restart expansion plans in anticipation of the inevitable reopening of our economy. I strongly believe in the long-term prospects of the food service industry, against a backdrop of rising Filipino incomes, and I have confidence that Shakey’s will continue to be a leader in this space,” Gokongwei said.
For his part, Shakey’s chairman Chris Po said the entry of the Gokongwei family as well as the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore, would further strengthen the fastfood firm’s financial position, “giving it additional flexibility at a time when many many organic and inorganic opportunities have started to open up.”
“As we are now firmly on the path of recovery, our sights are set on growth and expansion, and I thank the Gokongwei family for their trust and confidence in our long-term plans. We are eager to welcome them into our wow-ing business and culture,” Po said.
