Originally published Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Joint venture to help expand Tully's in Asia
Tully's Coffee in Seattle has formed a joint venture with Asia Food Culture Management in Singapore to develop its brand in Australia, New...
Tully's Coffee in Seattle has formed a joint venture with Asia Food Culture Management in Singapore to develop its brand in Australia, New Zealand and Asian countries excluding Japan.
Kouta Matsuda, the executive who made Tully's a profitable enterprise in Japan, manages the Singapore company, which will contribute $6 million to the joint venture, according to a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Tully's also agreed to pay $6 million to settle a legal dispute with UCC Ueshima Coffee, which had been licensed to open Tully's stores in Asia outside of Japan. The payment includes a $4 million promissory note.
Matsuda founded the company that made Tully's popular in Japan. In 2005, that company bought the license rights for Tully's there. Matsuda still owns a small portion of that company and started Koots Green Tea, which has stores in Japan and in Bellevue.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Tech execs double as scourges and sages at Allen & Co.'s media summit
Brier Dudley: Brier Dudley | Learning hard lessons from Boeing giveaways
UPDATE - 12:53 AM
Oil plunges below $65 on fears recovery may lag
Symantec, McAfee add firepower to market-share war

2009 fireworks time lapse
With strict parking rules enforced at this year's July 4th celebration on Wallingford Ave North, less cars and more spectators filled the streets.
Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech
shopping

events for Monday, Jul. 6th
- IKEA Summer Sale
- Blackbird Spring Half-Yearly Sale
- Posh on Main Semiannual Sale
- Evo Independence Sale
editors' picks
More shopping guides- Landmark Smith Tower mostly vacant
- Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
- Palin links resignation to 'higher calling' and blasts media in Facebook posting
- Former NFL MVP McNair killed
- Hard times for tourist towns means good deals for travelers
- Shooting unveils very different sides of McNair
- Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
- Quincy Jones remembers "the biggest entertainer on the planet": Michael Jackson
- Confessions of an Idol Addict | "American Idols" on tour: Live coverage from opening date
- Plasma and LCD beware; OLED screens ready to go mainstream
- Seattle Mariners at Boston Red Sox: 07/05 game thread
247 - Palin links resignation to 'higher calling' and blasts media in Facebook posting
172 - Hatred for the NBA runs deep, but don't take it out on the players
136 - Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
125 - Former NFL MVP McNair killed
112 - Property taxes: Appeals shoot up is King, Snohomish Counties
103 - Tent City on campus: UW stalls decision
100 - Anti-tax rally in Olympia attracts about 1,500
68 - Seeking your questions
53 - Mariners did their part, now they need help
44
- Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
- Hard times for tourist towns means good deals for travelers
- Landmark Smith Tower mostly vacant
- Plasma and LCD beware; OLED screens ready to go mainstream
- Tent City on campus: UW stalls decision
- The People's Pharmacy | Estrogen mimicker found in sunscreen
- Toyota's Toyoda scolds execs for emulating U.S. car companies' mistakes
- Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
- Outdoor-theater season kicks off at Volunteer Park
- Seattle safety project: A snake shelter on Beacon Hill
