Chinese bubble tea chain Chagee has listed on the Nasdaq and raised USD411 million, marking the second largest Chinese IPO in the US in three years, following Zeekr’s debut in May last year.
Five law firms – Davis Polk, King & Wood Mallesons, Maples Group, Fangda Partners and Cleary Gottlieb – participated in Chagee’s listing.
The Shanghai-based company sold 14.68 million American depositary shares at USD28 apiece.
Davis Polk’s Hong Kong-based partners James Lin and Li He, and Beijing-based partner Li Ran jointly advised Chagee on US federal securities and New York state law; King & Wood Mallesons counselled on PRC law matters; and Maples Group advised on the validity of the class A ordinary shares and Cayman Islands law.
Seven underwriters, including Citigroup Global Financial, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank, received US legal advice from Cleary Gottlieb’s Hong Kong-based partners Zhao Shuang and Zhang Biyuan, while Fangda Partners provided counsel on PRC law.
Chagee has developed rapidly since it was founded in 2017, serving clients with freshly made tea beverages at its 6,440 stores worldwide. Its financial performance has been impressive, achieving a net income of RMB803 million in 2023 and experiencing a significant year-on-year increase of 213% to RMB2.5 billion in 2024.
The beverage chain pursued its US debut despite the volatility in the US market triggered by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Trump ramped up tariffs of 145% on most China goods.
Chagee’s prospectus cited geopolitical tensions and trade tariffs as risk factors. Earlier this year, domestic counterparts Guming and Mixue listed on the HKEX.
