Nabi Saleh, executive chairman, of Gloria Jean’s Coffees, said the company had been looking for an opportunity to boost its expansion globally.
“As a result of months of discovery and ongoing consultation, we are confident that in GYP we have found the right partner to take the business to the next level,” he said when announcing the proposed acquisition, which is expected to be finalised on March 29 this year.
“We already have more than 800 coffee houses in 39 countries and are excited by the very real prospect of seeing Gloria Jean’s Coffees continue to grow internationally to become a truly global coffee house brand.”
GYP’s acquisition including intellectual property, the global supply chain operations, and the master franchisor business for all Gloria Jean’s Coffees coffee houses world-wide, would provide significant funding and resources for its continued global expansion with a focus on Asia, especially China, Gloria Jean’s said..
Mr Saleh would maintain a significant ongoing role in the Australian operations, and would assume the role of non-executive chairman of the newly formed GYP-owned holding company for the Gloria Jean’s Coffees business.
Mr Saleh would retain interests in the master franchisee business of Australia, USA and China.
“The partnership is committed to the continued success of the local Australian business in addition to expanding further into Asia, including China. GYP shares Gloria Jean’s Coffees vision for the brand and its potential for further growth as a values-oriented socially responsible business delivering excellence in coffee and café culture,” said Mah Bow Tan, GYP non-executive chairman and a former Singapore government cabinet minister.
GYP, a multi-platform solutions company focusing on up-to-date search and database marketing, is also the largest publisher of directories and provider of classified directory advertising and associated products and services in Singapore.
In addition to its core print directories and Internet Yellow Pages, the Group’s investments include Singapore Information Services Pte Ltd, which provides database marketing services
The group’s associate company, Yamada Green Resources Limited, is a major supplier of edible fungi, operating one of the largest mushroom cultivation bases in Fujian Province, in the People’s Republic of China.