FICO gets third of Evolution Capital's shares

The transaction, which will be completed by the end of October, also involves Evolution – a listed company – becoming the exclusive franchisee in Thailand for Domino’s Pizza and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Fico’s shareholders will transfer their food division, Fico Foods, and 50-per-cent stake in a joint venture with Evolution for the development of the Marriott Samui project, to Evolution in return for the issuance of 353 million new Evolution shares at Bt1.75 apiece.

Fico Foods owns the Thai rights for Domino’s Pizza and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and is overseeing an aggressive roll-out of the two brands in the Kingdom.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf makes its debut at CentralWorld late this month, while the first Domino’s Pizza outlet will open in Bangkok during the final quarter of the year.

Fico Foods also owns a series of popular restaurants in Bangkok’s Soi Thonglor, including The Ironfairies, Fat Gutz, Fat’R Gut’z, Mr Jones’ Orphanage, and Clouds.

As part of the transaction, Fico’s joint venture with Evolution for the development of the Marriott Resort & Residences at Laem Set on Koh Samui will be consolidated through Evolution acquiring Fico’s shares in the JV.

Fico has interests in hotels, office buildings, fashion retail, textiles and food, and Evolution has major investments in the budget hospitality sector through rapidly growing Red Planet Hotels – the franchisee of TuneHotels.com in five key Asian countries and which last month acquired a 16.05-per-cent stake in its franchisor, Tune Hotels – and a growing portfolio in the food and beverage segment, including the Magnolia Bakery franchise in Japan and The Coffee Bean &Tea Leaf franchise in Cambodia.

Fico’s Sanjay Singh will join Evolution to become chief executive officer of all of the company’s food businesses.

"We are delighted to be entering into this partnership with Evolution, as both our companies see tremendous potential growth in the hospitality as well as food and beverage sectors not only in Thailand, but also within the region," said Krit Srichawla, CEO of Fico and newly appointed chairman of Evolution and its executive committee.

"For instance, we will be in an enviable position of being able to offer travellers a full spectrum of accommodation in Bangkok, ranging from our four- and five-star hotels such as the Muse Hotel, Grand Millennium Sukhumvit, Novotel Ploenchit, Novotel Silom, Le Fenix, The Eugenia and Holiday Inn Sukhumvit to the imminent opening of the first Tune Hotel in Sukhumvit."

Fico Corp, whose roots are in manufacturing and textiles, has extended its operations to luxury retail, construction, commercial real estate, and hotel development.

It owns seven hotels already in operation and four under development with leading hotel operators including Accor, IHG, M&C and Marriott.

Evolution Capital is a diversified alternative-asset manager and investment adviser focused on emerging Asia.

The firm manages private equity funds, real-estate funds and proprietary capital across a range of industries and asset classes, with exposure to real estate, hospitality, digital media, e-commerce-related businesses, food and beverages, and financial services.