UPDATE 2-Philippines' Jollibee buying Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in overseas expansion

* Jollibee will pay $100 mln for 80% stake in holding firm
* It will also fork out another $250 mln which will be
repaid
* Deal is Jollibee's largest in terms of store footprint
* Company to fast-track Coffee Bean's Asian expansion -
chairman

(Adds details of deal; fund manager's comments)
By Neil Jerome Morales
MANILA, July 24 (Reuters) - Jollibee Foods Corp JFC.PS ,
Philippines' largest food service network operator, is buying
U.S. brand Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) for $100 million as
part of an expansion outside its home market.
Jollibee, which has a market value of nearly $5.5 billion,
is buying loss-making CBTL from private equity firm Advent
International and other investors including the Sassoon family,
a large shareholder in CBTL.
Los Angeles-based CBTL has 1,189 outlets spread across the
United States, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and is
rapidly growing in Asia. Nearly three-fourths of its outlets are
franchised.
Jollibee will invest $100 million for an 80% share in a
Singapore holding company that will acquire CBTL. The remaining
20% stake will be owned by Jollibee's partner in its Vietnam
coffee and restaurant business.
As part of the transaction, Jollibee will fork out another
$250 million, a portion of which was allotted to pay CBTL's
debt. The amount will be paid back by the holding company.
"The acquisition of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will be
Jollibee's largest and most multinational so far with business
presence in 27 countries," Jollibee Chairman Tony Tan Caktiong
said in a statement on Wednesday.
The deal allows Jollibee to be a key player in the large,
fast-growing and profitable coffee business, said Tan Caktiong,
adding that the priority is to accelerate Coffee Bean's growth
in Asia. The acquisition will add 14% to Jollibee's global
system-wide sales and 26% to its total store network, he said.
"They really want to diversify their income stream. At the
same time it is a business they know," said Robert Ramos, senior
vice-president and trust officer of Eastwest Bank in Manila.
Jollibee believes higher income in the Philippines will
support spending on higher-end products like specialty coffee,
said Ramos, who helps manage 30 billion pesos ($585.94 million),
including an index fund that holds Jollibee shares.
Shares in Jollibee fell 8% on Wednesday, their biggest daily
drop in nearly three years, which Ramos attributed to the
spending the company will be making. The broader Philippine
index .PSI closed 1.1 lower.
Known for its sweet-style spaghetti, burgers and fried
chicken, Jollibee is dominant in the Philippines, outselling
McDonald's and Yum Brands' KFC. It operates the largest
fast-food chain in the Southeast Asian nation with 3,195
restaurants.
Jollibee also has 1,418 stores across various brands
overseas. It is expanding overseas, including in China and the
United States, by investing in restaurant chains catering to
local tastes.
CBTL posted $312.95 million in revenues and $21 million in
net losses last year. It had debt of $83.56 million as of
end-2018.
($1 = 51.2000 Philippine pesos)