Advertising

The Seattle Times Company

NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWsource | Free Classifieds | seattletimes.com

Business / Technology


Our network sites seattletimes.com | Advanced

Originally published Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Print

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

More Business & Technology headlines...

Print      Share:    Digg     Newsvine

advertising

UPDATE - 09:46 AM
Exxon Mobil wins ruling in Alaska oil spill case

UPDATE - 09:32 AM
Bank stocks push indexes higher; oil prices dip

UPDATE - 08:04 AM
Ford CEO Mulally gets $56.5M in stock award

UPDATE - 07:54 AM
Underwater mortgages rise as home prices fall

NEW - 09:43 AM
Warner Bros. to offer movie rentals on Facebook

Advertising

Video

Marketplace

 
Most read
Most commented
Most e-mailed
 
 

Most viewed imagesMore

Advertising