(Reuters) -China’s Chagee revealed its revenue nearly tripled in 2024 as the tea chain filed for a U.S. initial public offering on Tuesday, joining firms betting on a broader recovery in investor appetite for new listings.
After a prolonged slowdown, the U.S. IPO market is poised for a rebound in 2025, with a wave of high-growth companies preparing to go public.
Expectations of interest rates easing further and a resurgence in risk appetite have fueled optimism, but analysts say the recovery will depend on the performance of key debutants.
Meanwhile, even as inflation and high interest rates squeeze household budgets, resilient demand for discretionary goods, dining and travel has sustained consumer spending, driving more consumer-focused brands to seek public listings.
However, the underwhelming market debut of pork processor Smithfield Foods highlight that investors remain cautious.
Founded in 2017, Chagee is a premium tea brand. As of December 31, 2024, its network comprised 6,440 teahouses, including 6,284 in China, the company said.
Chagee’s net revenue jumped to 12.41 billion Chinese yuan ($1.71 billion) in 2024, from 4.64 billion Chinese yuan a year ago. Net income increased 213.3% to 2.51 billion Chinese yuan over the same period.
Chinese companies typically seek U.S. stock market listings to tap deeper capital pools, attract a broader investor base, and potentially secure higher valuations.
The Chinese tea chain plans to use the offering’s proceeds to expand its teahouse network in China and abroad, along with other corporate purposes.
Its total gross merchandise value (GMV), a key operating metric used to measure and evaluate sales performance, in China and overseas grew by 172.9% to 29.46 billion Chinese yuan in 2024.
The company was granted approval earlier in March by China’s securities regulator for a U.S. listing.
Chagee expects to list shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol “CHA.”
Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, CICC and Deutsche Bank are the lead underwriters for the offering.
($1 = 7.2569 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
