McDonald’s Philippine rival Jollibee to list global business in the US by 2027

Shares of Jollibee Foods jumped the most in more than five years after it announced plans to spin off its international business and list it on a US stock exchange by late 2027 as the Philippine fast-food group plots its global expansion.

Jollibee, which increasingly is taking aim at global fast-food giants such as McDonald’s and Yum! Brands from Los Angeles to Ho Chi Minh City, said on Tuesday that it had hired international and local advisers to work on the spin-off and potential US listing. Jollibee Foods Corporation International would include all of the company’s businesses outside its home market, the company said in a statement filed to the Philippine Stock Exchange, where its Philippine operations will remain listed.

Jollibee shares – after a one-hour trading halt – rose as much as 11.6 per cent on Tuesday, the most since October 2020.

Establishing two listed businesses was designed to sharpen the strategic focus of each company and enhance the “clarity of each equity story”, Jollibee said.

The spin-off would allow investors to value the “stable, cash-generative Philippine business separately from the higher-growth but more volatile international operations”, COL Financial Group analyst Rachelle Biacora said in a note. However, the company’s domestic unit might have a lower market value, which could affect its weighting in some stock indices, she added.

Jollibee shareholders would receive a number of shares in the international business equal to their company holdings at the time of the listing, the company said.