Fico Corporation’s Srichwala family to acquire 33.7% of Evolution Capital PCL

Fico Corporation (“Fico”) announced today that its shareholders, the Srichawla family, shall acquire a 33.7% stake in Evolution Capital PCL (“Evolution”) to become the listed company’s largest shareholder. The transaction, which will be completed by October 2012, also involves Evolution becoming the exclusive franchisee for Domino’s Pizza and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Thailand. Fico’s shareholders will transfer their food division, Fico Foods Co. Ltd., and 50% stake in the existing JV with Evolution for the development of Marriott Samui project, to Evolution in return for the issuance of 353 million new shares of Evolution at Baht 1.75 each. Fico Foods owns the Thailand rights for Domino’s Pizza and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and is overseeing an aggressive rollout of the two brands in Thailand. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf makes its debut at CentralWorld in late August 2012 whilst the first Domino’s Pizza outlet will open in Bangkok by Q4 2012. 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 joint venture. Through this transaction, Fico and Evolution are consolidating their substantial synergies. 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 Limited, the franchisee of TuneHotels.com in 5 key Asian countries, which last month acquired a 16.05% 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 the Chief Executive Officer of all of Evolution’s food businesses. Krit Srichawla, CEO of Fico, and newly-appointed Chairman of Evolution and its executive committee, revealed, “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. For instance, we will be in an enviable position of being able to offer travelers a full spectrum of accommodation in Bangkok, ranging from our 4 and 5 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”. Added Simon Gerovich, CEO & Managing Director of Evolution: “We regard Fico’s acquisition of a majority stake in Evolution Capital as a stamp of approval of our company’s current business, and a vote of confidence in the synergies which we bring. Whilst the acquisition of Fico Foods, with its deeply experienced and highly motivated management team, will result in a significant fast-tracking of the company’s penetration of the food and beverage sector in Thailand, our expanding Red Planet Hotels portfolio will contribute substantially to the expansion of Fico’s hospitality footprint throughout Asia”. About Fico Corporation: With its roots in manufacturing and textiles, Fico Corporation’s current business activities extend to luxury retail, construction, commercial real estate, and hotel development. Fico owns 7 operating hotels and 4 currently under development with leading hotel operators including Accor, IHG, M&C, and Marriott. (www.ficocorporation.com) About Evolution Capital: Evolution Capital Public Company Limited, listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, is a diversified alternative asset manager and investment advisor 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 & beverage, and financial services. (www.evolution.co.th) About Domino’s Pizza: Founded as a single store in 1960, Domino’s Pizza today stands as the recognised world leader in pizza delivery. Serving more than 1 million customers daily, Domino’s Pizza operate nearly 10,000 stores in more than 60 countries, selling more than 400 million pizzas worldwide every year. (www.dominos.com) About The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: Born and brewed in Southern California since 1963, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has grown to be an international icon and currently has more than 800 stores in over 20 countries. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is the oldest and largest privately-held specialty coffee and tea retailer in the United States. (www.coffeebean.com) -KPA-

• ข่าวEvolution Capital
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