F&B giant SPC Group acquires Lina’s to ramp up global expansion

South Korea’s food and beverage conglomerate SPC Group announced Tuesday it has acquired French casual coffee chain Lina’s Développement. 

The conglomerate’s European holding company SPC Euro bought a 100% stake in Lina's Développement.

The acquisition comes after SPC brought the French bakery café into South Korea 20 years ago as a master franchise. In a master franchise agreement, the owner of the brand grants another party the right to recruit new franchisees in a specific area.

SPC Group has a number of internationally recognizable brands under its belt: namely bakery chains Paris Baguette, Paris Croissant, and ice cream parlor BR Korea. 

Founded in 1989 in Paris, Lina’s offers sandwiches, salads and specialty coffees at outlets in France with overseas operations in South Korea, Colombia and Lebanon.

Some 30 Lina’s locations are spread across the four nations with about a dozen in and around Seoul. 

With the latest acquisition, the SPC Group will ramp up its global expansion. 

The bakery behemoth will create a sandwich and salad R&D hub centering around Lina's; and incorporate French skillsets and recipes in the process. The group will direct its brands, such as Paris Baguette and Paris Croissant, to actively adopt the products developed in France. 

It will also work on expanding Lina’s foothold in Europe and entering North America and Southeast Asia by tapping into the global business infrastructure that its other brands have established in those markets. 

“Lina’s technical skills and more than 30 years of experience in the French market will help the SPC Group expand its presence in the global arena,” Jack Moran, the group’s Executive Vice President of Global Strategy and Development said. 

Moran added that SPC will continue to invest aggressively in its global expansion in the form of acquisitions and exploring new markets. 

Write to Soo-Jung Ha at agatha77@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.