Pancake House expands to UAE

MANILA – Local restaurant chain Pancake House is set to open in UAE as part of Max's Group's efforts in aggressively expanding its presence in the global scene.

Max's Group said it has signed a deal with Lulu Group to build at least eight Pancake House stores in UAE within the next five years.

“We are pleased with the opportunity to further broaden our reach in the UAE this time around for Pancake House. We are excited with our partnership with Lulu Group, an established retailer with a storied and rich history of success, to serve our products to the Emiratis,” said Max’s Group president and chief executive Robert Trota.

“We are also encouraged that our international campaign has received strong interest from a number of potential foreign partners. This can be attributed to the strength of our diverse portfolio of brands catering to various markets and tastes, anchored on a solid and well-organized Max's Group support system,” he added.

The deal with Lulu Group marked the fourth development agreement signed by the Max's Group this year, exceeding its target of entering at least two new territories for 2015.

The company plans to have at least 200 international outlets by 2020 across its brands.

Pancake House currently operates a network of 123 branches including nine franchised outlets located in Malaysia and Brunei.

Aside from Pancake House, also under the Max's Group umbrella are the brands Max's Restaurant, Yellow Cab, Krispy Kreme, Jamba Juice, Max’s Corner Bakery, Teriyaki Boy, Dencio’s, Meranti, Le Coeur De France, Maple, Kabisera, Singkit and Sizzlin’ Steak.

Max's Group, the largest operator in the Philippine casual
dining segment, reported profits of P248 million in the first half of 2015, an increase of 561 percent compared to the same period last year.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Max's group acquires Pancake House

MANILA  - The Max's Group of Companies, famous for its chain of fried chicken restaurants, has acquired Lorenzo-owned Pancake House.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Pancake House Holdings Inc. (PHHI) said it has agreed to sell all of its shares in the restaurant chain Pancake House Inc. to Max's Group at P15 per share, valuing the company at P3.9 billion.

The price represents a premium of about 7% over the 90-day volume weighted average price of Pancake House shares traded at the stock exchange.

PHHI is the principal shareholder of Pancake House Inc., with a 60.37% stake.

The Pancake House group, founded in 1974, has 105 outlets of its flagship brand Pancake House. The group has nearly 300 outlets of other brands such as Dencio's, Teriyaki Boy, Sizzlin' Pepper Steak, Le Coeur De France, Maple and Yellow Cab.

Max's Group will launch a tender offer to acquire up to 100% of Pancake House shares in January, as a condition to its acquisition. The tender offer will be made to all shareholders of Pancake House at the same price per share.

PHHI chairman and president Martin Lorenzo said the offer from Max's was "superior" to others it had received, including one from a foreign entity that would have resulted in Pancake House going private.

"We believed that it was the Max's Group offer that will make us sleep better at night... It puts Pancake House in a better position to continue providing great experiences to customers and perform strongly in an increasingly competitive casual dining market," Lorenzo said.

At the same time, Robert Trota, chairman of Max's (Ermita) Inc., said the group plans to keep Pancake House as a listed company.

"Both companies share a long history of brand recognition and innovation, customer loyalty and proven track record for expansion. We are confident that this transaction will reinforce the values of both Pancake House and Max's in servicing our customers," he said.

Max's group, which started in 1945, now has over 150 stores in the Philippines and overseas. Its founding families are also the same pioneers that brought the popular international brands Krispy Kreme and Jamba Juice to the country.

BPI Capital Corp. acted as the exclusive financial advisor to the Max's Group for the transaction.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com