HOMEGROWN fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. will be financing the $238-million acquisition of South Korean coffee chain Compose Coffee through a mix of debt and cash, of which 47 percent, or $111.8 million, will be borrowed.'It's going to be 47 percent debt, which has been lined up,' JFC Chief Financial Officer Richard Shin told a roundtable discussion last week, adding that the company will utilize excess cash for the remaining 53 percent portion of the purchase price.
'The finance chief also said that the acquisition of Compose Coffee had been by Elevation.'We actively looked for a deal in Korea, but the deal came to us. ... Elevation brought the deal to us, but also foreign investors into Korea, so we thought it was a win-win for all parties. So that's it. That's why we ended up there.