DFI Retail Group, the Jardine Matheson-controlled operator of Wellcome supermarkets, Mannings drugstores, 7-Eleven and IKEA franchises across Asia, is taking full ownership of one of the region's biggest Starbucks operations. The company confirmed a deal to buy out its longtime partner Maxim's Caterers' stake in their 50-50 Starbucks licensed business, according to an official regulatory filing released Tuesday.

Under the reorganization, DFI's subsidiary Hayselton Enterprises will absorb Maxim's half of the Starbucks joint venture, while Maxim's simultaneously buys back DFI's 50% shareholding in the wider Maxim's restaurant and bakery group. As part of the swap, DFI will collect the Starbucks business plus approximately $340 million in cash, subject to customary adjustments, according to Reuters reporting on the transaction.

The prize is sizable: more than 1,100 Starbucks coffeehouses spread across Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Macau and Laos. The business pulled in close to $750 million in revenue in 2025 at a 7% operating margin, having grown at a 3.5% compound annual rate since 2023.

Betting big on caffeine

DFI isn't just consolidating — it's projecting aggressive growth. The company expects the Starbucks unit to contribute $600–650 million in revenue between April and December 2027 alone, scaling to roughly $900 million annually by 2028, with the store count expanding to at least 1,350 locations and operating margins climbing toward 8–9% over the medium term. Management is pencilling in about $10 million of synergies in the first full year after the deal closes.

The transaction is structured as a material related-party transaction — Jardine Matheson Holdings, DFI's parent, filed its own related-party disclosure alongside DFI's filing, underscoring how tightly the Jardine conglomerate's retail and restaurant arms are intertwined across the region. Andrew Wong, who already oversees DFI's IKEA licensing business, will take charge of the combined Starbucks and IKEA portfolio once the deal closes.

DFI is sweetening the deal for its own shareholders too: the company says it will lift its 2027 dividend payout ratio to 80% while holding firm on its 2028 underlying profit guidance of $310–350 million, signaling confidence that the freshly consolidated coffee business will help fund bigger payouts rather than strain the balance sheet.

The deal is expected to close by the end of March 2027, with an option to extend to June 2027, pending antitrust clearance, third-party consents and completion of the business separation from the broader Maxim's group — meaning the full impact on DFI's earnings won't show up for another year and a half. In the meantime, it hands Jardine Matheson sole strategic control over how a Western coffee icon expands across Southeast Asia's fastest-growing consumer markets.