KUALA LUMPUR (July 30): Paramount Corp Bhd (KL:PARAMON) has no plan to acquire additional F&B businesses after the acquisition of a 28% stake in Singapore-listed Envictus International Holdings Ltd, said group chief executive officer Jeffrey Chew Sun Teong.
The property developer will instead focus on expanding Envictus’ operations — the operator of Texas Chicken and San Francisco Coffee in Malaysia — said Chew at a media briefing following the acquisition announcement.
Paramount is acquiring the 28% stake in Envictus for S$38.33 million (RM126.14 million) from JAG Capital Holdings Sdn Bhd. The deal is not subject to shareholders’ approval and is expected to be completed by Aug 7.
“This is a strategic growth opportunity for us. Property will remain our core business, contributing around 70% to group earnings,” said Chew.
Over the next five years, the group intends to grow the number of Texas Chicken outlets in Malaysia from 100 to 200, while also implementing a turnaround plan for the loss-making San Francisco Coffee.
Envictus reported a PAT of RM16.1 million for the first half of 2025, after posting RM50.6 million in PAT for the full year of 2024.
Prior to that, it had been loss-making for three consecutive years — recording net losses of RM32.9 million in 2023, RM6.4 million in 2022 and RM48.4 million in 2021 — due to high costs and the Covid-19 pandemic. The group has not paid out dividends since 2014.
Paramount already has a small presence in the F&B space through two restaurants in Kuala Lumpur — Dewakan, which boasts two Michelin stars and a Michelin Green Star, and the newly established Bidou.
Whether the Envictus stake will be a long-term investment for Paramount remains subject to market conditions, Chew said.
“At four times price-to-earnings, the valuation is much lower than other comparable deals, such as Oriental Kopi which was valued at 28 times. So, this represents a good entry point. It could be a long-term investment, but if the market changes, we can exit. For now, our priority is to grow this business rather than pursue more F&B acquisitions,” he added.
Shares of Paramount slipped one sen to RM1.09 on Wednesday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM678.82 million.