Juan willing to give up Figaro trademark if 'the price is right'

MANILA, Philippines - Pacita “Chit” Juan, the former chief executive officer of Figaro Coffee Company, said that she is amenable to giving up the tradermark Figaro, which is held by her, as long as “the price is right.”

This was revealed over the weekend by Juan who wants to be able to finally “move on” and end her business ties with Figaro.

Juan is also hoping to resolve in the “least confrontational” manner her corporate dispute with her former business partners.

Juan revealed that prior to an unexpected press conference called by the new management of Figaro, she had actually been in talks with lawyers of Figaro regarding a possible amicable settlement of the intra-corporate dispute.

She stressed that she would be willing to return to the negotiating table on the condition that “all cards should be on the table.”

Juan, replying to pronouncement made by Crismel Verano, acting chairman and CEO of Figaro, clarified that the bank debt that the new management of the coffee chain is now questioning were all sanctioned and approved by the Figaro Board after listening to the pitch made by Banco de Oro.

BDO, Juan pointed out, was the one which first approached Figaro in 2004 regarding financing the coffee chain’s growth and expansion, with an eye toward a future public offering.

Juan clarified that Figaro would not have been able to secure the BDO loan without providing the necessary Board resolutions and approval.

Unfortunately, Juan admitted, she and her former business partners, the Tansecos, had different views on the direction of Figaro.

While Juan was bullish on growing Figaro, the Tansecos were ready to cash out on the coffee chain.

In a previous press conference, Verano had revealed that the new management was questioning how the debt was incurred and where the funds were actually used.

Verano said that his group has so far shelled out P50 million to keep the local coffee chain operating.

His group, Verano said, is still negotiating with the two creditor banks—BDO and MetroBank to restructure the slightly over P100 million outstanding debt of Figaro which was incurred during the time of Juan who managed the company until early last year.

Verano said that the new management has written BDO and Metrobank to “hold in abeyance” any request or demand for payment of the outstanding loans.

The outstanding loan to BDO, Verano said, is around P93 million while the amount owed to Metrobank is a more manageable P5 million.

The Verano Group, Verano said, has not yet committed to repay the outstanding debt since it is still questioning how the debt was incurred and where the funds were actually used.

Verano revealed that his group only took over management of Figaro in January this year.