Colombia Juan Valdez Coffee-Shop Chain To Open Cafes In Chile

BOGOTA (Dow Jones)--The Colombian Juan Valdez coffee-shop chain has signed a deal to open about 20 stores and distribute Colombian coffee in Chile, the company said in a report this week.

The deal was reached between the Chilean Falabella group and Procafecol S.A., the holding company set up to manage the Juan Valdez brand. Procafecol is the Spanish acronym for "promoter of Colombian coffee."

The new operations include the creation of Procafecol Chile, in which the Colombian shareholders will have a 35% stake and Falabella a 65% stake, Procafecol said in a report filed to the Colombian securities regulator. A copy was obtained by Dow Jones Newswires.

Procafecol is 83.9% owned by Colombia's National Federation of Coffee Growers, or Fedecafe, and 15.19% by local coffee growers, according to Fedecafe figures.

The company currently operates 65 Juan Valdez outlets in Colombia, as well as others in the U.S. and Spain, according to the Juan Valdez Web site.

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