Pancake House buys Max’s group firms for P4B

MANILA, Philippines – Pancake House Inc. said Tuesday, July 1, it is acquiring 20 firms under the Max’s Group of Companies through a share-swap deal worth P4.05 billion ($92.86 million) to create the country’s largest casual dining restaurant chain.

The announcement comes after Max’s bought Pancake House from the Lorenzo group for P3.5 billion ($80.25 million) in January.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange Tuesday, Pancake House said its board approved the issuance of 270.1 million new shares to Max’s at an issue price of P15 ($0.3439) per share.

The shares to be received by the Max’s shareholders will be issued out of the unissued shares of Pancake House after the approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the increase in the company’s capital stock.

“We spent several months of extensive analysis evaluating the Pancake House business and its brands and potential synergies with Max’s Group and concluded with the help of management, that the integration of Max’s Group and Pancake House was in the best interest of Pancake House shareholders,” Pancake House president and CEO Robert Trota said in a statement.

With the transaction, two all-time Filipino iconic restaurant groups and their total 14 brands are now combined under one entity.

“This makes Pancake House the largest restaurant group in the country’s increasingly competitive casual dining segment,” Trota added.

The union will provide operational synergies for both groups, creating a bigger, more integrated and efficient organization, the statement noted.

Largest casual dining restaurant chain

The combined entity now includes 14 brands: 4 from Max’s group and 10 from Pancake House.

The Max’s brands include Max’s Restaurant, Max’s Corner Bakery, Krispy Kreme, and Jamba Juice.

The Pancake House brands include its flagship store Pancake House, Yellow Cab, Le Coeur De France, Dencio’s, Teriyaki Boy, Singkit, Sizzling Pepper Steak, Kabisera, the Chicken Rice Shop, and Maple.

The group will now own a nationwide network of about 500 outlets and 25 stores overseas.

In preparation for future expansion, shareholders of Pancake House earlier approved the increase in the company’s authorized capital stock to P1.4 billion ($33 million) from P400 million ($33 million).

They also approved the declaration of 100% stock dividend covering 259.10 million common shares at par value of P1 ($0.023) per share to fund the increase. 

The record date for the stock dividend will be determined upon the approval by the SEC of the company’s application for increase in capital stock. – Rappler.com