Luckin in US$150m fundraising

Source: Xinhua | 2019-04-19

Chinese startup Luckin Coffee has completed its Series B+ round of financing worth US$150 million, the company said yesterday.

The funding, of which US$125 million was invested by BlackRock and which came four months after the coffee chain picked up US$200 million in investment, lifts the company’s valuation to about US$2.9 billion, the company said in a statement.

As an emerging market player that rivals Starbucks, Luckin Coffee started trial operation in January last year.

It sells coffee at brick-and-mortar stores while also delivering products through online orders.

The Xiamen-based coffee chain startup has been expanding at a fast clip since its official operation in May 2018, with over 2,000 outlets opened in 36 Chinese cities by April 10.