Chinese bubble tea chain Chagee Holdings Ltd is moving forward with its plans to go public in the United States, aiming to raise up to US$411 million through an initial public offering (IPO), despite turbulent equity markets driven by renewed trade tensions between the US and China.
According to a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Shanghai-based company is offering 14.68 million American depositary shares (ADS), priced between US$26 and US$28 apiece. At the upper end of the range, Chagee would be valued at approximately US$3.3 billion.
Several institutional investors have expressed interest in the IPO. Entities tied to CDH Investment Management Co, RWC Asset Management, Allianz Global Investors Asia Pacific Ltd, and ORIX Asia Asset Management Ltd have indicated potential commitments totalling US$205 million, signalling confidence in the company’s growth story.
The IPO marks a bold move as other firms, including StubHub, Klarna, and eToro, have opted to delay listings amid market uncertainty. Airo Group Holdings Inc, an aerospace and defence firm, also launched its IPO on Thursday, targeting US$80 million.
Chagee’s decision to proceed comes as the US-China trade dispute intensifies, with tariffs and geopolitical risks featured prominently among the risk disclosures in its SEC filing. The company highlighted that all of its products are manufactured in China and shipped globally, a model vulnerable to future policy escalations.
The listing follows the recent successful IPO of domestic peer Mixue Group in Hong Kong, which became the city’s largest flotation of the year, riding on strong demand for bubble tea stocks. According to Chagee’s filing, the company operated 6,440 tea houses as of December 2024, reflecting an 83% year-on-year growth rate.
Founded in 2017 by Junjie Zhang, who will retain 89% of the voting power post-offering, Chagee has rapidly scaled its presence and now positions itself as a major player in the global premium tea market.
The IPO is being underwritten by Citigroup Inc, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank AG, and China International Capital Corp (CICC). Chagee plans to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol CHA.
