On February 28, Reuters reported that Luckin Coffee had contacted three investment banks, they are Credit Suisse Bank, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, to go to the United States for an IPO this year. News shows that the IPO is expected as early as May or June. Regarding this, the person in charge of Luckin Coffee said that no relevant information had been received at present.
Since the second half of 2018, there has been continuous news about the listing of Luckin Coffee. Earlier, it was reported that Luckin Coffee is speeding up its IPO in Hong Kong, registering Luckin Coffee (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. overseas or preparing for its IPO in Hong Kong. At the beginning of this year, Luckin Coffee appointed new executives with financial background, which was also interpreted by the industry as paving the way for listing. On Feb. 1, Bloomberg reported that Luckin Coffee had begun preparing for an IPO in the United States, raising about $300 million.
As for the location of listing from Hong Kong, China to the United States, some industry analysis points out that the establishment time of Luckin Coffee is too short to meet the requirements of listing in Hong Kong. According to public information, Luckin Coffee was established in October 2017 and officially opened in May 2018. By the end of 2018, Luckin coffee has completed the layout of 2073 stores in 22 cities nationwide, and this number will reach 4,500 by the end of 2019.
However, there are also objections to the listing of Luckin coffee. Some experts point out that Luckin coffee has not formed a unique advantage in brand, product, mode, etc. At present, the Chinese coffee market has not reached its explosive stage. It is not conducive to the purpose of listing and financing of Luckin coffee only by rapidly expanding the market without paying attention to the precipitation of brand culture and value.
