DFI Retail Group will take sole ownership of Coffee Concepts, the business that operates Starbucks under licence in Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia and Laos, after agreeing with Hongkong Caterers to split their long-standing joint holding in Maxim’s Caterers. The reorganisation, announced on 30 September 2026, separates a network of more than 1,100 Starbucks coffeehouses from Maxim’s restaurant and bakery portfolio and is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions.
Under the agreement, Hongkong Caterers becomes the sole shareholder of Maxim’s Caterers, buying back the 50% stake that DFI has held. According to Reuters reporting carried by Inside Retail Asia, Maxim’s will also pay DFI US$340 million in cash as part of the transaction, while DFI’s unit assumes Maxim’s existing interests in the Starbucks-licensed business.
The result is a clean division of two very different operating models: a single-brand licensed coffee platform on one side, and a multi-concept Chinese restaurant, bakery and festive-products business on the other.
DFI describes the move as the final step in shifting from a holding portfolio to a focused operating company. In its statement, the group said the Starbucks business would be revenue and operating-margin accretive to its core retail operations from completion, with further upside from operating synergies.
DFI calls the deal the final milestone in its pivot to a focused operating company.
DFI expects the coffee business to add US$600–650 million to subsidiaries’ revenue between April and December 2027, and about US$900 million on a full-year basis in 2028. The group points to Asia Pacific’s expanding middle class, higher disposable incomes and growing spend on specialty coffee and tea as the demand drivers behind the licence.
The Maxim’s brand dates back to 1956 and became a joint venture between Hongkong Caterers and Jardine Matheson in 1972, with Jardines’ interest held through DFI for the past four decades. Together the businesses grew to more than 2,000 stores across nine markets. Hongkong Caterers now gains full control of a platform it can steer across diverse cuisines, bakery and seasonal products such as mooncakes, while DFI concentrates on the coffeehouse network.
For the region’s coffee franchise market, the deal confirms that large licensed coffee networks are being treated as standalone, investable platforms rather than as one line inside a diversified conglomerate. That matters in markets such as Thailand and Vietnam, where Coffee Concepts runs the brand and where competition from Chinese and regional chains has intensified — a trend also visible in Gulf capital backing for Luckin Coffee.
Three points stand out for family offices, private equity and multi-unit operators assessing master franchise or licence rights in the region.
First, single-brand focus is being rewarded. DFI is consolidating a licence that spans seven markets under one owner, which simplifies governance with the brand owner and makes capital allocation easier to explain to investors.
Second, multi-country licence footprints carry real enterprise value. A network covering mature hubs (Hong Kong, Singapore) alongside growth markets (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos) gives the holder both cash generation and runway — the kind of portfolio logic that should inform how investors weigh a master franchise, area development or joint venture structure.
Third, shared services survive the split. Procurement, property, digital and loyalty remain joint, which shows that operators separating ownership can still keep scale benefits through contractual partnerships.
Completion is expected in early 2027. Until then, both businesses continue trading as normal.
Source: Inside Retail Asia — DFI Retail to take over Starbucks business from Maxim’s in seven markets; company announcement: DFI Retail Group & Hongkong Caterers announce reorganisation of Maxim’s
