ANALYSIS: Jollibee’s Highlands Coffee deal shows the value in building a business — and then cashing in

The deal offers a practical example of how growth and ownership can evolve as a business matures.

Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) is giving up control of Highlands Coffee, but it is hardly walking away from the Vietnamese coffee chain it helped build.

JFC announced last week that it will sell an 11% stake in Highlands to Viet Thai International (VTI), the company’s founding shareholder, for about $88 million, or roughly ₱5.2 billion. Once the deal is completed, VTI will own 51% while JFC will retain 49%, putting the value of Highlands at about $800 million, or roughly ₱47 billion.

JFC has plenty to show for that investment before giving up control.

The Philippine food giant invested in Highlands in 2012, when the chain had a little over 50 stores. By the end of June 2026, Highlands had grown to 1,062 stores, while its Vietnam business posted 11.5% growth in the second quarter.

Jollibee initially invested $25 million, or roughly ₱1.5 billion, in Highlands in 2012. More than a decade later, it is selling part of that stake in a transaction that values the entire coffee business at about $800 million, showing how much the Vietnamese chain has grown during JFC’s ownership.

That makes the decision to give up control particularly interesting because Jollibee is not selling a business that has run out of room to grow. Instead, it is monetizing part of an asset that has expanded substantially under its ownership while retaining almost half of the company and continuing to participate in its future.

JFC said the proceeds from the transaction can be used for debt reduction, reinvestment in other high-growth platforms and shareholder returns. The company will also retain board representation and minority protections under the new shareholder arrangement.

There is a practical lesson here for Philippine companies looking to build businesses overseas. An investment does not have to end with full ownership forever. A company can bring in capital and operating experience, help scale a business, and eventually take some value off the table while still keeping a sizeable stake in what it helped create.

That is essentially what happened with Highlands. Jollibee entered the business when it was a relatively small Vietnamese coffee chain, helped provide the capital and expertise needed to expand it, and now has a business valuable enough for its original Vietnamese shareholder to pay for greater control.

The transaction also gives JFC additional capital to deploy elsewhere without cutting its ties to Highlands. With 49% still in its hands, Jollibee remains exposed to the coffee chain’s future growth while freeing up money from an investment that has already created substantial value.

The timing is also worth watching because JFC is preparing to separate its international business from its Philippine operations through a proposed Hong Kong listing for Jollibee Foods Corp. International.

The Highlands transaction therefore comes as Jollibee takes a closer look at how its international businesses are owned, valued and funded. The $800-million transaction value also gives JFC an external reference point for the worth of a business it has spent more than a decade helping to build.

For Philippine companies expanding abroad, the Highlands deal offers a practical example of how growth and ownership can evolve as a business matures. Building the business is one part of the job, while deciding when to monetize some of that value without walking away from the opportunity altogether is another.

Jollibee is giving up control of Highlands, but it is keeping 49% of the company and taking cash out of an investment it helped grow. That combination allows JFC to participate in what comes next while giving the company more capital to put to work elsewhere.

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