Bounty Fresh owner takes stake in The Bistro Group of restaurants

Inoza Business Holdings, Inc., a newly formed holding company affiliated with the company behind the Bounty Fresh and Chooks-to-Go brands, has bought A. Soriano Corporation's stake in TBG Food Holdings, Inc., operator of The Bistro Group of restaurants.

A Soriano, or Anscor, executed a deed of sale with Inoza on Oct. 1 to sell its stake in TBG Food for ₱1.91 billion in cash, according to a regulatory filing by Ànscor on Friday, Oct. 3.

Ànscor said it generated gross annualized returns greater than 25% on its investment in TBG. A previous filing showed that Ànscor purchased a 22% stake in TBG Food from Navegar, a Singaporean private equity firm focused on the Philippines, for about ₱1.61 billion in cash in November 2024.

Antitrust agency Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said in August that it cleared Inoza's acquisition of a "majority stake" in TBG Food. Inoza is affiliated with Progeny Global Holdings, Inc., the company behind Bounty Fresh and limited-service restaurants Chooks-to-Go and Uling Roasters.

The agency said it found no competition concerns in the transaction, given the parties’ limited market shares in the food service industry and the availability of alternative suppliers of chicken meat, table eggs, pork and beef.

The transaction combines Inoza's agribusiness and food service business with TBG's full-service restaurant business, and is expected to enable growth for both companies, the PCC said. (Ventures Cebu/Marites Villamor-Ilano)