DFI Plans Full Control of Starbucks Business Including Singapore

DFI Retail Group plans to take full control of a regional Starbucks licensed business covering seven Asian markets, including Singapore, as part of an asset exchange with its longtime food and beverage partner. The reorganisation involves around 1,100 Starbucks outlets and would deliver approximately US$340 million in cash proceeds to DFI.

An asset exchange with a longstanding partner

According to The Edge Singapore’s report on 30 September 2026, DFI will sell its interests in the Maxim’s-branded chain of food and beverage outlets to its joint venture partner while taking full control of the Starbucks licensed business currently within that venture.

The arrangement stems from a 50–50 joint venture dating back around four decades between Jardine, DFI’s parent company, and Hong Kong Caterers, owned by the Wu family. The Hong Kong-based food and beverage operation includes the regional Starbucks business.

The approximately US$340 million payable to DFI represents the difference in value between the two groups of assets being exchanged. DFI plans to use the proceeds to pursue mergers and acquisitions and return excess capital to shareholders.

“The reorganisation will mark the final milestone of the group’s pivot from a portfolio company to a focused operating company,” DFI said in its announcement, as quoted in the report.

For Singapore’s franchise community, the central development is a proposed change in control of an established regional licensed network, rather than the arrival of a new coffee brand.

Singapore sits within a seven-market network

Singapore is one of the seven Asian markets covered by the Starbucks business involved in the transaction. The approximately 1,100 outlets are a regional total, not a Singapore store count.

That distinction matters when assessing the announcement’s local significance. The reported transaction would bring the regional business fully under DFI’s control, but the research does not provide a Singapore-specific breakdown of outlets, revenue or planned investment.

Nor does the report announce a new Singapore opening programme or an opportunity for individual investors to acquire Starbucks franchises. It describes a corporate reorganisation involving the licensed business.

The immediate relevance for local operators and advisers is therefore the ownership structure behind a major coffeehouse network. Any assessment of what the deal means for Singapore store expansion should remain separate from DFI’s regional growth ambitions until local details are announced.

Revenue expectations extend into 2028

DFI said the Starbucks licensed business generated revenue of close to US$750 million in 2025, with an underlying operating margin of 7%. Revenue grew at a compound annual growth rate of 3.5% between 2023 and 2025.

The company expects the business to add to both revenue and operating margin in its core retail operations immediately upon completion. It also anticipates further benefits from combining operations.

Its projections include a contribution of US$600 million to US$650 million to total subsidiaries’ revenue for April to December 2027, followed by approximately US$900 million on a full-year basis in 2028.

These figures are company expectations for the regional business, rather than reported future results or forecasts for Singapore alone. The different reporting periods also matter: the 2027 contribution covers nine months, whereas the 2028 figure covers a full year.

Expansion and operating efficiencies in focus

DFI aims to achieve revenue compound annual growth of 6–7% from 2026 to 2029, supported by an expanding coffeehouse footprint of at least 1,350 locations and improved store sales density.

Alongside that expansion, the company is targeting a medium-term operating margin of 8–9%. It estimates US$10 million in operating synergies in the first full year after consolidation, identifying procurement, overheads and property optimisation among the areas expected to contribute.

For Singapore’s franchise community, the plan offers a concrete example of how network growth and operating efficiency can feature together in a large licensed-business strategy. However, the regional footprint target does not establish how many additional outlets, if any, will be allocated to Singapore.

The practical takeaway: treat this as a regional ownership and operating-strategy announcement. Singapore operators, suppliers and prospective investors should look for confirmed local investment plans and completion updates before drawing conclusions about new sites or business opportunities.