GIC Exits Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures
Posted on 10/16/2023
On October 10, 2023, Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures, Inc. (PSE:PIZZA), a casual dining restaurant chains and food service group in the Philippines, announced that Century Pacific Group, Inc. (CPG) and JE Holdings, Inc. (JE) have purchased via private placement the stake of one of its long-standing strategic investors, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Limited through affiliate Arran Investment Pte Ltd.
CPG and JE are the private holdings companies of the Po and Gokongwei families, respectively.
GIC held 283 million shares, representing a 16.8% stake in Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures. CPG purchased 185 million shares, bumping up its holdings to 62%. Meanwhile, JE Holdings took up 98 million shares, laddering up to a 14.9% stake in PIZZA. Shares were purchased at Php 9.50 apiece.
Christopher (Chris) Po, PIZZA Chairman, said in a press release, “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.”
Lance Gokongwei (Lance Yu Gokongwei), Chairman and President of JE, said in a press release, “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.”
JE Holdings entered PIZZA as a strategic investor in 2021, infusing Php 1.25 billion in capital to support organic and inorganic opportunities. Since its entry, the Group has expanded its portfolio of Wow Brands with the acquisition of Potato Corner, the leading kiosk-based flavored fries chain in the country, and realized synergies with JE Holdings. JG Summit Holdings Inc., one of the largest Filipino conglomerates, with interests in food (Universal Robina), air transport (Cebu Pacific), real estate and property development (Robinsons Land Corp.), banking (Robinsons Bank), and petrochemicals (JG Summit Olefins Corp.). Gokongwei is the only son of the late John Gokongwei Jr.
