Luckin Coffee (ADR)

Luckin Coffee is considering entry into Persian Gulf markets following a $1 billion joint investment from Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and Centurium. The backing comes after a turnaround that has made Luckin the largest coffee chain in China by sales and attracted other institutional investors including Temasek. The company is also expanding in Singapore and Malaysia, running limited international stores compared with its 36,000+ locations in China, and is pursuing a U.S. relisting pending regulatory approvals. » More on cnbc.com

Sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and majority shareholder Centurium are jointly making a strategic minority investment in Luckin Coffee of about $1 billion. On a converted basis the transaction and affiliated companies amount to an economic stake of around 22.1%; Mubadala obtains, subject to conditions, the right to appoint a director. Luckin is expanding rapidly (more than 36,000 stores, Q2 revenue +29% to ~15.9 billion yuan) and continues to trade OTC in the US under the ticker LKNCY. » More on de.investing.com

Luckin Coffee reported fourth-quarter revenue up 32.9% year over year to $1.82 billion, driven by new store openings and expansion into markets like Singapore, Malaysia and the U.S. The company leverages low prices, online ordering and cashier-free formats and trades about 36% below its 2020 peak, with a forward P/E of 24 versus Starbucks at 41. CEO Jinyi Guo plans to seek a Nasdaq relisting, which management says could unlock significant value, making Luckin the preferred pick versus Mama's Creations in this analysis. » More on finance.yahoo.com