The price tag is somewhere under $400 million, according to reports.
A major backer of Chinese concept Luckin Coffee has agreed to acquire Blue Bottle Coffee from Nestlé, according to multiple Asian-based news outlets.
Private equity firm Centurium Capital, which invested $240 million into Luckin nearly five years ago, will reportedly acquire Blue Bottle’s global cafe business while Nestlé keeps the CPG segment. The price tag is somewhere under $400 million, according to Chinese outlet 36Kr.
Nestlé acquired a majority stake in Blue Bottle in 2017, valuing the company at $700 million at the time.
Founded in 2002, Blue Bottle is a premium coffee roaster and cafe chain based in Oakland, California. The company has more than 100 storefronts across the U.S. and Asia. The brand is part of the “third wave of coffee,” which treats coffee as an artisan product, including specialty beans, precise brewing, and meticulous sustainability and sourcing standards.
Centurium helped turn around Luckin after the chain faced a fraud scandal, leadership overhaul, bankruptcy, and billions of dollars in lost market value.
With over 31,000 shops systemwide, the nine-year-old Luckin is already the largest coffee chain in China and one of the biggest in the world. It reported more than $7 billion in net revenue in fiscal 2025, a 43 percent increase year-over-year.
The chain opened its first U.S. store in New York City last summer and finished fiscal 2025 with nine openings.
“As one of the world’s largest and most mature coffee markets, the U.S. represents one of our important long-term opportunities,” CEO Jinyi Guo said during the company’s Q4 earnings call. “So, we are expanding our U.S. business with great patience and discipline, focusing on building strong foundations across products, supply chain, consumer insights, customer experience, and organizational capabilities for the long run.”
For comparison, Starbucks has around 41,000 cafes globally, including 8,000 in China and nearly 17,000 in the U.S.
Luckin is known for its mobile-only ordering process and pricing under the competition. CNN once reported that Luckin’s drinks in China were roughly 30 percent cheaper than Starbucks.
However, with the acquisition of Blue Bottle, Centurium is potentially pushing for a more premium positioning. Luckin opened a two-story, high-end flagship store in Shenzhen, China, in February. CNBC said the unit, over 4,500 square feet in size, “nudged prices slightly higher” for its menu of pour-over and cold brew drinks, in addition to a variety of specialty beverages.
Reuters reported in December that Nestlé was exploring a sale. The publication said the move is part of a larger strategy to streamline the overall business and pivot away from operating brick-and-mortar locations.
Source: QSE Magazine
