by MA Yue

China-based private equity firm Centurium Capital, the key investor behind Luckin Coffee, has reached a deal to acquire the global café operations of U.S. specialty chain Blue Bottle Coffee from Nestlé for less than US$400 million, according to Chinese media reports.

Reports by LatePost and 36Kr on March 4 said Centurium would take over Blue Bottle's global café business, while Nestlé would retain the brand's packaged coffee business. The Swiss food group acquired about 68% of Blue Bottle Coffee for roughly US$500 million in 2017.

Jiemian News contacted Blue Bottle Coffee, Nestlé China and Centurium Capital for comment but did not receive detailed responses.

Centurium is best known as the lead investor behind Luckin Coffee, China's largest coffee chain by store count, and helped lead the company’s restructuring after the chain's 2020 accounting scandal.

Centurium and its founding managing partner Li Hui together hold about 23% of Luckin Coffee and control a majority of its voting rights.

If completed, the deal would pair a brand that helped define the third-wave coffee movement with a Chinese investor known for rapidly scaling café chains.

Blue Bottle entered mainland China in 2022 and now operates 15 stores in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou. Globally, it had about 140 cafés across six countries and regions as of August 2025, reflecting its deliberately slow expansion strategy.

The company has traditionally relied on customised store designs and carefully selected locations to reinforce its premium positioning. But the strategy has struggled to gain traction in China.

A person familiar with the company said internal reviews found that the brand’s early momentum in China faded faster than expected, partly because each store typically requires six to 12 months to prepare — far longer than the four to six months needed by Starbucks or the two to three months required by Luckin Coffee.

Some recent openings have also shifted toward mainstream shopping malls, which offer prime visibility but may dilute the brand's boutique image, according to a commercial real-estate leasing executive.

For Centurium, the deal could help fill a gap at the premium end of its coffee portfolio. Industry sources told Jiemian News that the firm had also considered other specialty brands such as %Arabica and M Stand.

Rather than sacrificing Blue Bottle's high-end positioning, Centurium may apply capabilities developed at Luckin Coffee, including supply-chain management and cost control.

China's coffee market has expanded rapidly in recent years, led by aggressive store openings from local chains such as Luckin Coffee and Cotti Coffee, intensifying competition across both mass and premium segments.

Blue Bottle Coffee has yet to turn a profit. According to 36Kr, the company generated about US$250 million in revenue in the 12 months to June 30, 2025, including roughly US$150 million from the United States and about US$100 million from the Asia-Pacific region. The company expects to reach profitability in 2026.

Blue Bottle has also signalled plans to accelerate expansion. In September 2025, chief executive Karl William Strovink said growing the company's global café network would become a strategic priority, with Asia remaining a core market.

Whether Blue Bottle can accelerate expansion while preserving its premium image will be a key test for Centurium in China's increasingly crowded coffee market.