CJ Group’s restaurant business unit CJ Foodville has sold its flagship coffeehouse chain A Twosome Place as part of its business restructuring to Hong Kong-based private equity firm Anchor Equity Partners, the firm confirmed Wednesday.

The sale involved 45 percent stake held by CJ Foodville in A Twosome Place for 202.5 billion won ($173.3 million). When the deal is finalized, the sell-off will increase the PEF’s share to 85 percent as it already owns a 40 percent stake in the coffee chain.

CJ Foodville said the sale is aimed at selling a well-performing brand for debt redemption and to focus on the management of its core businesses.

A Twosome Place is one of few CJ Foodville brands that is profitable. It currently operates 950 stores nationwide, following Ediya Coffee with 2,800 and Starbucks with 1,150 outlets. 

In recent years, CJ Foodville has seen a slump of its other brands such as VIPS and Season’s Table, buffet chains which both have significantly reduced the number of stores.

Last year, the food business operator posted a 43.4 billion won operating loss. Its sales also dropped by 3.9 percent to 1.3 trillion won. 

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)