April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] A Twosome Place, Korea’s coffee chain spun off from CJ Foodville, announced on Feb. 27 that it has attracted investment worth 50 billion won (US$46.65 million).

Three investors, including Hong Kong-based global private equity firm Anchor Equity Partners, funded the coffee chain by buying its newly issued stocks.

This is the second round of funding that the company has completed this year. On Feb. 1, it said it attracted investment worth 130 billion won by selling its stocks to a special purpose company funded jointly by Anchor Equity Partners, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

“Using secured investments, we plan to strengthen key sectors including R&D, brand marketing, IT and production infrastructure to improve our sales and operating profit,” CJ Foodville said in a statement. “Ultimately, we aim to become the top coffee chain operator in both the domestic and global markets.”

The spin-off decision for A Twosome Place was made last year after CJ Foodville faced financial difficulties. The coffee chain’s profits had been used to offset the parent firm’s money-losing businesses. A Twosome Place’s operating profit stood at 30 billion won in 2016, while CJ Foodville’s overall operating loss reached 2.3 billion won.

A Twosome Place currently has 910 stores in Korea, and around 40 outlets in China. It’s the second biggest coffee chain in Korea, following Starbucks Coffee Korea.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)