Jamba Inc. has signed an agreement to sell 100 company-owned units in California to an existing franchisee for $36 million, the company said Wednesday.
The buyer, Vitaligent LLC, is a St. Louis-based franchise group led by David Peacock, former president of InBev subsidiary Anheuser-Busch. After the deal closes, Vitaligent will own 105 Jamba Juice locations, including the 100 units in the San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento markets under the agreement.
“We are excited to extend our relationship with Dave and his organization,” James White, Jamba’s chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement. “The strength of their partnership group and our shared vision for growth in the Midwest and the West will significantly enhance our brand presence and future growth opportunities.”
Peacock said the Vitaligent team was also excited to expand its partnership with Jamba Juice.
“This world-class brand is at the convergence of the health and well-being movement and trend toward convenience,” he said in a statement. “We are confident that we can drive performance through a disciplined management approach and with a superior team in our stores.”
The move marks another step by Jamba toward its goal of becoming more than 80-percent franchise operated.
Another 14 company-owned locations in California have also been marked for refranchising, and the company said discussions are underway with interested parties for those locations.
Emeryville, Calif.-based Jamba is on track to complete its refranchising effort within the first half of 2015, the company said.
“This is a significant step toward our achieving the company’s commitment to an asset-light model and positions us well to reach our goal of generating $30 million to $40 million of cumulative cash proceeds from refranchising in 2015,” said White, noting that a portion of proceeds would be returned to shareholders through stock repurchases.
Jamba has been under pressure in recent months from activist investors pushing for change at Jamba, including cost cutting measures and refranchising. In January, the company named two new board members in an attempt to maintain control.
As of the end of 2014, Jamba Juice had 806 units in the U.S., including 543 franchise locations and 263 corporate units. Franchise units included 39 Smoothie Stations, featuring a limited-menu express format. The chain included 62 international locations.
After reporting a 4.9-percent increase in fourth-quarter systemwide same-store sales, the company said it plans to double its unit openings in 2015, with the goal of adding 100 to 125 new locations globally.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected]
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