OldTown shareholders agreed to accept JDE offer

Malaysian cafe chain and coffee manufacturer OldTown is about to sell a majority shareholding to Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) for about US$361 million.

It is part of a move by the global coffee and tea company to expand its coffee empire.

OldTown, which has 232 outlets, mostly in Malaysia, says shareholders holding about 51.45 per cent of the total issued share capital of the company have irrevocably undertaken to tender all their shares in acceptance of the offer, says the company.

Jacobs Douwe Egberts Holdings is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Netherlands-based JDE, which owns such coffee and tea brands as Jacobs, L’Or, Moccona, Senseo and Tassimo, and has a presence in more than 120 countries.

Earlier this year JDE acquired Singapore-listed Super Group, a pan-Asian integrated instant F&B brand for S$1.45 billion (US$1.05 billion).

“We are deeply honoured JDE recognises the powerful brand and platform we have tirelessly built over the past 18 years,” says OldTown group MD Lee Siew Heng.

OldTowns’s cafes are spread across Malaysia (189 outlets) and Singapore (nine outlets), with Malaysia accounting for 59 per cent of its revenue. Born out of a merger between the coffee businesses of US snack company Mondelez with coffee and tea company DE Master Blenders in July 2015, JDE says it is on track for an annual revenues of more than €5 billion (US$ 5.8 billion), claiming a leading position in 28 countries across Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific.