After Carmen’s Finest, Manny Pangilinan buys into agency behind Conti’s, Wendy’s PH

(1st UPDATE) With extra funds for capital expenditures, Conti’s and Wendy’s will be extra aggressive with giants Goldilocks and Purple Ribbon within the bakeshop class, and Jollibee and McDonald’s Philippines in fast-food

MANILA, Philippines – Tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan’s (MVP) urge for food for food-related enterprises continues to develop. His newest? A minority stake within the agency behind the bakeshop-restaurant Conti’s and burger chain, Wendy’s Philippines. 

The pinnacle of Pangilinan’s agricultural unit confirmed that the Philippines’ largest sports activities patron has taken a 15% stake in Eight-8-Ate Holdings Included (Eight-8-Ate), the meals and restaurant operator of Conti’s and Wendy’s. The agency additionally owns operates a small espresso enterprise, Higher Espresso.

“We’ve at all times wished to enter the protein aspect of the [food] plate. This makes enterprise sense, it’s a really sound enterprise. We predict it is going to assist MPAV in our general goal,” Jovy Hernandez, president and CEO of Metro Pacific Agro Ventures Included (MPAV), mentioned in an interview on the enterprise present, Cash Talks, on Tuesday, September 2. 

Hernandez was requested in regards to the reported P3-billion joint fairness funding of Pangilinan with billionaire Ramon Ang in Eight-8-Ate.  

Pangilinan, higher identified for his holdings in arduous infrastructure comparable to telcos (PLDT), energy (Meralco), and toll roads (NLEX), has been growing his investments in Philippine agriculture and meals, hoping to do his share in bettering meals safety within the nation in response to a name from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 

Though it’s only a 15% minority stake in Eight-8-Ate, Hernandez mentioned the funding will permit MPAV to “have dibs on the enterprise, study extra from them on their successes and hopefully apply that additionally to our enterprise.” He didn’t rule out MPAV additional growing its stake in Eight-8-Ate.

Even previous to the funding, Hernandez mentioned Conti’s was already a serious buyer of MPAV’s dairy enterprise, which Conti’s wants for its bakery enterprise. 

“They’re current prospects of our kesong puti (white cheese). So there are a variety of synergies we will see in our MPAV enterprise,” Hernandez mentioned. 

As of April 2025, Conti’s had 81 shops whereas Wendy’s Philippines had 80 within the Philippines, in line with Eight-8-Ate’s web site. 

Conti’s is turning into a serious participant within the Philippine bakeshop and restaurant sector, with many shoppers queueing for its truffles throughout particular days comparable to Mom’s Day, Valentine’s, and the like. With extra sources behind it, it might pose an even bigger problem to business leaders such because the Sy household’s Goldilocks and the Jollibee Group’s Purple Ribbon. Wendy’s Philippines can also have the ability to put up a stronger battle in opposition to main quick-service eating places Jollibee and McDonald’s Philippines.

Goldilocks has over 900 company-owned and franchise shops, whereas Purple Ribbon has greater than 500.

Jollibee had round 1,279 shops within the Philippines as of finish of 2024, whereas McDonald’s Philppines had 792. 

Eight-8-Ate goals to be “among the many prime 3 main a number of meals model operators within the Philippines.”

The Philippine Star, a part of Pangilinan’s media empire, reported on Saturday, August 30, that the 15% stake in Eight-8-Ate was value P1.2 billion. Philippine Each day Inquirer, however, mentioned that tycoon Ramon Ang had additionally agreed on a 15% stake within the holding agency. Ang’s funding seems to be a private one since his publicly listed San Miguel Company has not made any disclosures to the Philippine Inventory Alternate.

In 2022, Pangilinan, a “late bloomer” in Philippine agriculture, acquired a majority stake within the Magsaysay household’s Carmen’s Finest to develop and broaden its dairy enterprise, and lift the Philippines’ recent milk manufacturing. The Philippines imports most of its milk necessities.

Final March, MPAV opened Metro Pacific Contemporary Farms, the largest vegetable greenhouse facility within the Philippines, in San Rafael, Bulacan, which produces lettuce and different greens. The farm is a collaboration with Israeli enterprise agency, LR Group, which makes use of a drip irrigation system. Its aim is to supply 500 metric tons of recent greens by the tip of 2025. 

Dennis Uy unloads

Conti’s and Wendy’s Philippines have been among the many high-profile acquisitions of Davao businessman Dennis Uy throughout the Duterte administration. Uy’s Udenna Company purchased 70% into the Conti’s Holdings Company in 2018, and adopted this up by shopping for WenPhil Company, which had 51 Wendy’s eating places within the Philippines in 2019. Eight-8-Ate then turned the grasp franchisee of the US burger chain within the nation.

Nevertheless, Uy, the highest marketing campaign donor of former president Rodrigo Duterte within the 2016 presidential elections, has since encountered tough crusing in what Rappler enterprise columnist Val Villanueva described as a “speedy, debt-fueled enlargement” that was susceptible to “altering political tides and financial downturns.” Amongst Uy’s main corporations are Phoenix Petroleum, Chelsea Logistics, and telco DITO Telecommunity.

Reuters reported in 2022 that Uy had explored promoting Eight-8-Ate Holdings for $200 million or round P10 billion. Uy reportedly bought his stake in Eight-8-Ate to businesswoman Crystal Jacinto and Malaysian businessman Jaya Sudhir, the Inquirer reported final 12 months.

Conti’s was based by three Conti sisters in BF Houses Parañaque in 1997 and is finest identified for its Mango Bravo cake. It solely had 21 shops when Uy purchased Conti’s in 2018. – Rappler.com