Last month, it was announced that Nestle was maybe kinda possibly considering selling off their stake in Blue Bottle Coffee. The company is looking to divest from any brick and mortar locations, which would mean their investment in the Oakland-based cafe chain would need to be moved. At the time there was no mention of an interested buyer, but it appears that one has emerged. Luckin Coffee, the Chinese coffee chain looking to challenge Starbucks, has expressed interest in buying Blue Bottle.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one source told Bloomberg that Luckin is exploring a bid as part of a larger strategy to position themselves in the premium coffee world. Along with Blue Bottle, Luckin and its financial backer Centurium Capital are also looking into acquiring the operator of all the % Arabica location in China.
Luckin and Centurium also explored another major acquisition, Costa Coffee from Coca-Cola, who is also looking to offload some of their coffee portfolio, but that deal is believed to no longer be in the works.
It has been a wild ride for Luckin. From explosive initial growth and overtaking Starbucks in China to being delisted on the NYSE to reemerging and opening their first US location. And now they are tied to the purchase of one of the biggest global players in specialty coffee.
The deal is still very much in the early stages, and may not ever come to fruition but there is a certain je ne sais quoi about a coffee brand whose service model is “as fast as possible” acquiring one of the original leaders in the clubhouse for slow coffee. Blue Bottle is, to the best of my recollection, the first major specialty coffee brand with their own pour-over brewer. And now, in a grand twist of irony, Blue Bottle, a specialty coffee brand, is being traded like a commodity. So it goes. “It” being the imbroglio between specialty coffee and corporations.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
