The Po and Gokongwei families jointly owning Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. on Monday acquired the entire shareholdings of the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Pvt Ltd.
In a regulatory filing, Shakey’s said the Po family’s Century Pacific Group Inc. and the Gokongwei’s JE Holdings Inc. have purchased the shares held by GIC at P9.50 per share.
Shakey’s shares on Monday closed at P9.48, lower by 28 centavos from previous close. GIC has 283 million shares, representing 16.8 percent stake in the company.
CPG purchased 185 million shares, bumping up its holdings to 62 percent, while JE Holdings took up 98 million shares, increasing its stake to 14.9 percent stake.
“GIC had been with Shakey’s prior to our IPO 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 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,” Christopher T. Po, Shakey’s chairman, said.
“Since being elected in 2021 as a board member (of Shakey’s), 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 (Shakey’s) expansion in the years to come, and look forward to creating synergies with the Gokongwei group,” Lance Gokongwei, chairman and President of JE Holdings, said.
JE Holdings entered as strategic investor in 2021, infusing P1.25 billion in capital to support organic and inorganic opportunities. Since its entry, the group has expanded its portfolio of brands with the acquisition of Potato Corner, the leading kiosk-based flavored fries chain in the country, and realized synergies with JE Holdings.
To date, Shakey’s has close to 2,000 stores and outlets globally, most of which are Potato Corner kiosks.
In the first six months, Shakey’s reported attributable net income nearly double that of last year to P489 million from only P250.11 million.
The group recently upgraded its 2023 outlook to better than 30 percent growth for both top and bottomline.
