[HONG KONG] China’s Manner Coffee is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong as soon as next year, according to people with knowledge of the matter, reviving expectations of a listing that first emerged in 2021.
The coffee chain has been in discussions with investment banks about the possible listing, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. It could seek to raise a few hundred million US dollars and a valuation of as much as US$3 billion, they said.
Deliberations are at an early stage and details such as size and timing could change, the people said. Manner did not respond to requests for comment.
After starting out a decade ago as a roadside stall in Shanghai, Manner now operates more than 2,000 directly owned stores in China, according to its website. The brand, part of Shanghai Yinhe Industrial, counts TikTok owner ByteDance and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings as backers.
Manner has built on the popularity of coffee in China, muscling in with major brands like Starbucks, which has about 8,000 stores in the country, and Luckin Coffee, which has more than 26,000. Starbucks recently agreed to sell a controlling stake in its China business to Boyu Capital with the aim of improving its competitiveness in the market, its second-biggest worldwide.
Manner had been considering an IPO in HK about four years ago, people familiar with the matter said at the time. After a subsequent lull, listing activity has picked up in Hong Kong again, with more than US$32 billion raised in IPOs in the city this year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That was the most since 2021. BLOOMBERG
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