MANILA - Jollibee Foods Corp said on Wednesday it would acquire a majority stake in Meko Holdings Ltd, the Jollibee brand's master franchisee in Hong Kong which would raise its ownership to 60 percent.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, JFC said the Singapore-based Golden Plate Pte. Ltd, a subsidiary of Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd would acquire shares from the shareholders of Meko for a total of 60 percent ownership equivalent to $16.08 million.

The remaining 40 percent will be kept by the current shareholders, JFC said.

A share purchase agreement is expected to be signed on April 5, the country's largest restaurant operator said.

"Hong Kong is an important market for Jollibee and an important part of JFC China’s strategy to elevate the Jollibee brand in a general population or mainstream market," the company said.

As of the end of February, the JFC group operated 6,506 stores globally.

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