Pancake House eyes Yellow Cab purchase

Lorenzo-owned restaurant operator Pancake House is exploring the possibility of acquiring the Yellow Cab pizza chain. In a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Pancake House said it is "continuously identifying investment opportunities in the casual dining segment." "Yellow Cab Food Corp. is one of the many that Pancake House finds great interest in due to the strong brand it owns, the premium products it serves and its impeccable financial growth since inception. The company has conducted exploratory talks with the owners of Yellow Cab, however, neither arrangements nor agreements had been made relating to an acquisition," Pancake House said. Yellow Cab has grown from 15 employees in 2001 to more than 1,500 presently, with operations in five countries, information posted at its website said. Pancake House has earlier disclosed that its earnings in the year's first half barely grew from P24.76 million to P25.46 million. Pancake House operates 178 restaurants in the country. Besides Pancake House, other brands are Dencio's, Teriyaki Boy, Sizzlin' Pepper Steak, Le Couer de France and The Chicken Rice Shop. Pancake House also operates in Malaysia and is in negotiation "with certain parties to establish an outlet in Singapore." --CMA/OMG, GMA News