Yahoo Finance Tycoon Tan Is Said to Weigh Starbucks Malaysia Owner Buyout
(Bloomberg) -- Malaysian tycoon Vincent Tan is considering taking Kuala Lumpur-listed Berjaya Food Bhd. private, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
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Tan is in talks with banks about financing for a potential buyout deal for Berjaya Food, which owns 100% of Starbucks Corp.’s Malaysian operations, said the people, asking not to be named as the matter is private. Berjaya Food’s stock, which had lost more than a quarter of its value in the past year, jumped as much as 6.5% after the Bloomberg News report, the biggest intraday gain since September.
Berjaya Corp., a company founded by Tan in 1984 and involved in the real estate, hotels and consumer sectors, has a deemed interest of 55% in Berjaya Food, according to its latest available annual report.
Founded in 2009, Berjaya Food also runs brands including Kenny Rogers Roasters chain of restaurants in Malaysia as well Jollibean, a fresh soy milk operator. As of June 30, 2023, Starbucks Malaysia had 393 stores nationwide while Kenny Rogers Roasters had 80 stores.
Deliberations are preliminary and Tan could still decide against pursuing a go-private deal for Berjaya Food, the people said. Tan declined to comment, while representatives for Berjaya Food and Berjaya Corp. didn’t respond to requests seeking comment.
--With assistance from Ram Anand.
(Updates with stock move in second paragraph.)
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