Jollibee is seeking a greater share of the fast-growing global bubble tea market | Photo credit: Frank Zhang

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Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) has acquired a majority stake in Taiwanese bubble tea café operator Milkshop International.
 
According to a stock exchange filing, JFC will pay around $12.9m for a 51% stake in the firm, which manages around 250 Milkshop and Milksha bubble tea cafés across Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macao, Japan, Canada, and Australia.
 
"First introduced in Taiwan in 1987, the bubble tea has since grown into a multibillion-dollar industry worldwide. This gives JFC the opportunity to participate in this fast-growing beverage category and together with Milkshop's founder, grow the Milksha brand globally," JFC said in a press statement.
 
According to the filing, Milkshop generated system-wide revenues of $66.5m in 2019 and $74.7m in 2020.
 
JFC operates a global network of more than 5,800 fast food and coffee chain stores around the world. These include more than 1,000 The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf stores, which the firm acquired as part of a $350m deal in July 2019, and around 480 Highlands Coffee stores.

In August 2021, Jollibee reported second quarter revenues of $19.4m – a 109.5% increase on the same period during 2020.