KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 — Berjaya Group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan is considering taking Berjaya Food Bhd, the parent company of Starbucks in Malaysia, private, Bloomberg reported yesterday.

Citing unnamed sources familiar with the issue, the business news wire reported that the Malaysian tycoon is in talks with banks about financing for a potential buyout deal for Berjaya Food, which owns 100 per cent of Starbucks Corp’s Malaysian operations.

Tan’s company Berjaya Corp has a 55 per cent deemed interest in Berjaya Food, which had lost more than a quarter of its stock value in the past year.

Founded in 2009, Berjaya Food also runs other brands in the food and beverage industry, including the Kenny Rogers Roasters chain of restaurants in Malaysia as well as Jollibean, a fresh soy milk provider.

As of June 30, 2023, Starbucks Malaysia had 393 stores nationwide while Kenny Rogers Roasters had 80 stores.

Deliberations are at the preliminary stage and Tan could still decide against pursuing a go-private deal for Berjaya Food, Bloomberg reported.

The news agency also reported that Tan declined to comment, while representatives for Berjaya Food and Berjaya Corp didn’t respond to its requests for comment.