Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC sold its 16.8-percent stake in restaurant chain Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. for P2.69 billion.
Shakey’s said in a disclosure to the stock exchange GIC, through affiliate Arran Investment Pte. Ltd., sold 283 million shares in the food company at P9.50 apiece.
This represented a 3.26-percent premium over the stock’s closing price of P9.20 on Friday.
Shakey’s shareholders Century Pacific Group Inc. (CPG), the holding company of the Po family and JE Holdings Inc. (JE) a privately-held investment company of the Gokongwei family, acquired the shares from GIC.
CPG purchased 185 million shares to increase its holdings in Shakey’s to 62 percent, while JE Holdings took up 98 million shares to boost its share to 14.9 percent.
Shakey’s chairman Christoper Po expressed appreciation for GIC, which invested in Shakey’s prior to its initial public offering in 2016.
“As strategic investors, they have been big supporters and have added value to the company. Thus, in turn, I am pleased that the company was able to generate gains for them. I am also grateful for the opportunity to increase our investments in PIZZA [Shakey’s] as we are firm believers and are excited by our future prospects. We are also grateful to the Gokongwei family for their belief in our company and the additional investment,” Po said.
JE Holdings chairman and president Lance Gokongwei expressed willingness to support Shakey’s expansion plans.
“Since being elected in 2021 as a board member of PIZZA, I have seen the company navigate through a pandemic and emerge from it a better, more diversified group. This gives me confidence in the group’s vision and capability to execute. We are pleased with the opportunities that lie ahead, strongly support PIZZA’s expansion in the years to come, and look forward to creating synergies with the Gokongwei Group,” Gokongwei said.
JE Holdings became a strategic investor of Shakey in 2021, via P1.25-billion capital infusion. Since its entry in Shakey’s, the food company expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of Potato Corner, the leading kiosk-based flavored fries chain in the country.
Shakey’s has nearly 2,000 stores and outlets globally across its brands.