KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 13): Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp), controlled by tycoon and its founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun, has increased its stake in Berjaya Food Bhd (BFood) to 55.31% from 52.86%, after the conglomerate bought 43 million BFood shares for RM29.57 million or about 68.8 sen per share.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday, BCorp said its wholly owned subsidiary Teras Mewah Sdn Bhd had on Aug 28 and Sept 12 acquired in aggregate 43 million shares, equivalent to a 2.45% stake, in BFood via direct business transactions.

"The acquisitions were funded from internal funds of Teras Mewah. There is no liability to be assumed by BCorp Group arising from the acquisitions," it added.

Following the latest deal, BCorp and its subsidiaries now hold a total of 970.27 million shares or a 55.31% equity interest in BFood.

"The acquisitions are not subject to the approval of the shareholders of BCorp or any regulatory authority," it said.

BCorp added that the acquisitions are not expected to have any material effect on the group's net assets, earnings and gearing for the current financial year ending June 30, 2024 (FY2024).

In FY2023, BFood, which operates the Starbucks, Kenny Rogers Roasters and Jollibean Foods café and restaurant chains in Malaysia, saw its net profit fall 16% to RM103.41 million from RM124.78 million in the previous year, which it blamed on higher operating costs resulting from inflationary pressures and the unfavourable foreign exchange rate against the US dollar. Revenue for FY2023, however, rose 12% to RM1.12 billion from RM997.76 million in FY2022, due to the aggressive marketing campaigns and effective promotion strategies, as well as the additional stores operating in Malaysia.

BCorp shares closed unchanged at 29 sen on Wednesday, valuing the group at RM1.7 billion. Shares of BFood, meanwhile, ended the day one sen or 1.44% lower at 68.5 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM1.33 billion.