Centuryam Capital, the investment and operator of Louis Xing Coffee, has signed a deal to acquire Blue Bottle’s global stores from Nestle, according to local media in China. The acquisition price is reported to be less than $400 million.
According to reports, Louising Coffee won the right to operate in a bid to acquire Blue Bottle Coffee and signed a deal with Nestle, the largest shareholder of Blue Bottle. Nestle, which acquired a 68% stake in Blue Bottle in 2017 for $425 million, plans to maintain its Blue Bottle coffee machine and capsule business only.
“It is meaningful in the coffee market that a Chinese brand that has distinguished itself based on its solid supply chain and size has acquired a world-class brand in the specialty coffee sector,” said the daily.
According to Bloomberg News, Centuryham has been considering not only Blue Bottle but also Coca-Cola’s Costa Coffee and Japan’s “% Arabica” as potential acquisition targets. Founded in 2017, Louis Xing Coffee was delisted from the Nasdaq stock market in the U.S. due to an accounting fraud scandal in 2020, but it has overtaken Starbucks as China’s largest coffee company in 2023 as it has grown rapidly, mainly in mainland China.
Louising Coffee’s sales in the fourth quarter of last year increased 33% year-on-year to 12.8 billion yuan, and the number of stores increased 39% to 31,048 during the same period.
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
