Tencent Investments earned 10 billion yuan from two deals.

There was a time when consumer investment was at the bottom of the venture capital circle's contempt chain. However, two investments by Tencent are truly thought-provoking -

One is Amer Sports, the parent company of Arc'teryx. This year, its shareholders have successively reduced their holdings for profit. Recall that in 2019, a consortium composed of Anta Group, FountainVest Partners, Tencent, etc. jointly acquired Amer Sports. Now, with the company's stock price performing well, Tencent has made a huge profit.

The other is Lao Pu Gold. This was originally a project that few investors bet on. Unexpectedly, Tencent entered as a cornerstone investor before Lao Pu Gold's IPO, and the investment amount was quite substantial. As we all know, after Lao Pu Gold went public, its stock price soared all the way. So far, Tencent has a paper profit of over HK$5 billion.

Tencent's investments seem effortless, but the returns are enviable. This once again proves that consumer investment can also yield huge profits.

Six years ago, Tencent joined hands to acquire Arc'teryx and made a fortune

Let's start with the latest situation of Arc'teryx.

The investors who participated in the acquisition back then are starting to cash in. This month, Chip Wilson, the founder of Lululemon, cashed out about 1.1 billion RMB by selling Amer Sports stocks. Earlier, FountainVest Partners also sought to sell half of its stake in Amer Sports, selling 35 million shares at a price of $37.20 - $37.73, cashing out about 9 billion RMB.

Tencent was also one of the consortiums that acquired Amer Sports at that time.

Back in 2018, Anta Group took the lead and formed a consortium with FountainVest Partners, Tencent, etc. In March 2019, they completed the acquisition of Amer Sports for 4.6 billion euros (about 36 billion RMB at that time), which caused a sensation. After that, Amer Sports carried out a new round of financing, introducing well - known investment institutions such as Sequoia Capital China and ZWC Partners.

At that time, Anta made the acquisition through a newly established subsidiary, JVCo (the consortium). Among them, Anta contributed 1.543 billion euros, holding 57.95% of the shares and becoming the absolute controlling shareholder; FV Fund ultimately contributed 1.071 billion euros, holding 21.4%; Anamered Investments contributed 354 million euros, holding 20.65%.

(From the documents publicly disclosed by Anta Group on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, not the final investment amount)

One of the investors, FV Fund, is jointly composed of FountainVest Partners, Tencent, and other loan syndicates. Specifically, Tencent did not directly become a shareholder of JVCo but invested in FountainVest Rainbow Limited, a subsidiary under FountainVest Partners.

According to the official announcement, Tencent ultimately contributed $125 million in this transaction and indirectly obtained about 5.6% of the equity.

In 2024, Amer Sports successfully went public on the New York Stock Exchange. Now, its market value is about $21 billion (about 150 billion RMB). After the listing, the share - holding ratios of the shareholders in Amer Sports have been adjusted accordingly.

(The grand occasion of Amer Sports' ringing the bell: Ding Shizhong, the head of Anta, is in the C - position. Tang Kui of FountainVest Partners and Li Zhaohui of Tencent Investment are also there)

FountainVest Partners has achieved amazing returns in this investment. Converted at the exchange rate when the acquisition was completed in 2019, FountainVest Partners invested about 7.7 billion RMB. After cashing out 9.3 billion RMB, it still retains 6.2% of the shares in Amer Sports, and the remaining shares are still worth nearly 10 billion RMB in market value.

Needless to say, Tencent is also one of the biggest winners. After Amer Sports went public in 2024, Tencent held about 4.5% of the shares. Calculated in this way, Tencent's paper profit exceeded 5 billion RMB.

Over the years, under the operation of Anta Group, the brands under Amer Sports have rapidly promoted their development in the Chinese market, and the sales scale has expanded. In particular, Arc'teryx has become very popular. In recent years, owning an Arc'teryx windbreaker has almost become a social symbol for the middle class.

Perhaps because of the increasing investment value brought by Arc'teryx, Tencent later invested in another windbreaker brand, Pechoin. Known as an alternative to Arc'teryx, Pechoin is planning to list in Hong Kong. Tencent holds 10.70% of the shares in Pechoin, making it the largest institutional investor.

If Pechoin successfully goes public, Tencent will gain another round of returns.

Invested in Lao Pu Gold before IPO, with a paper profit of HK$5 billion

Another investment with obvious profit - making effects is the investment in Lao Pu Gold.

On March 5, 2025, Lao Pu Gold's stock price reached HK$600 per share, surpassing Tencent and becoming the new "king of stocks" in the Hong Kong stock market. This was an unexpected scene. Recall that when it went public in June 2024, the issue price of Lao Pu Gold was only HK$40.5. Since then, its stock price has soared all the way. By the close on September 15, it had reached HK$726.5 per share, a 1699% increase from the issue price.

Lao Pu Gold has continuously refreshed its historical records. However, behind this fierce consumer company, few investment institutions bet on it in advance.

Before that, Lao Pu Gold only opened a single round of financing in 2023. At that time, it was still a relatively unknown project and did not attract the attention of many investors. In the end, only Black Ant Capital and Yuyuan Co., Ltd. invested.

Soon, Lao Pu Gold submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Half a year later, the company announced the introduction of Tencent, Nanfang Fund, and CPE Yuanfeng as cornerstone investors for the IPO issuance, with a total subscription of $56 million.

Among them, Tencent subscribed $35 million through its subsidiary Tencent Huang River, holding about 4% of the shares. This was a rather rare move for Tencent to participate in the IPO issuance of a consumer company as a cornerstone investor with a large - scale investment.

Unexpectedly, after Lao Pu Gold went public, its stock price continued to rise, and Tencent reaped rich returns. As a cornerstone investor in Lao Pu Gold, Tencent still holds more than 4% of the shares. Roughly calculated, the paper profit has exceeded HK$5 billion, making it one of Tencent's most profitable consumer investment projects.

After Lao Pu Gold, Tencent has frequently appeared on the list of cornerstone investors.

On February 12 this year, Guming Holdings Co., Ltd. officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, kicking off the listing wave of new tea - drinking brands this year. Similar to the story of Lao Pu Gold, Guming only opened a single round of external financing before its IPO, and the figures of Meituan Longzhu, Sequoia Capital China, and Coatue emerged.

The listing in the Hong Kong stock market has become an opportunity for other investors to enter. During Guming's IPO, there were a total of five cornerstone investors, including Tencent, Genesis Capital, Meituan Longzhu, Duckling Fund, and Zhengxing Valley Capital, with a total subscription of $71 million.

This year, cornerstone investments in the Hong Kong stock market have been very popular. Roughly calculated, well - known leading institutions in the primary market have unexpectedly appeared in the cornerstone investment lineup. An important reason behind this is that "it can make money."

As of September 15, Guming's total market value exceeded HK$50 billion, doubling compared to the day of its IPO. Correspondingly, the cornerstone investors have also achieved paper profits. Public information shows that Guming's restricted shares were lifted on August 12, involving 2.23 billion shares. There is currently no definite news indicating that Tencent has reduced its holdings.

To some extent, investing means making money.

Consumer investment can also yield huge profits

Looking back at these two consumer investments, Tencent's "product - selection" vision is truly sharp.

When it comes to Tencent Investment, it is widely recognized in the industry as one of the most powerful CVCs in the world. In April 2020, Tencent Investment launched its official website with an independent logo. This independent department, which originated from Tencent's Investment and M&A Department, has gradually developed into an independently - operated financial investment institution. Over the years, it has invested in almost half of China's Internet industry.

In the consumer field, Tencent has made many investments, whether it was the early investments in JD.com, Meituan, Pinduoduo, and Vipshop, or the later acquisitions of shares in Miniso, Tims Coffee, Heytea, Pechoin, Farfetch, etc. Tencent, which aims to capture the dividends of China's consumer transformation, is betting on the lifestyles of the next - generation consumers.

An investor from a CVC institution said of Tencent, its peer, "Tencent basically doesn't interfere in the company's operations, which would be like an outsider directing an insider." It is reported that before making an investment, Tencent's investment team often considers a question: Can the future development of this company outperform Tencent's stock price?

Now, the paper profits from these two projects exceed 10 billion RMB, which is a rare sight in China's consumer sector.

Consumer investment has experienced great ups and downs and hit rock bottom in the past few years. We have heard many such voices: Consumer investment has been ridiculed as "the most accessible investment track," and some first - tier investment institutions have even directly abolished their entire consumer investment teams. Once, many investors around us abandoned consumer investment and turned to embrace technology.

Even today, "investing in consumption" remains an extremely cautious investment track. After the valuation decline, difficult exits, and the flight of hot money, many people are still confused about new consumer investment and don't know how to invest.

Fortunately, things are gradually changing.

Looking at this year, in this wave of mergers and acquisitions in China and even globally, consumer - sector targets occupy a very important position. The Hong Kong stock market is enthusiastic about the consumer field, which has broadened the exit channels for consumer investment and ushered in a window period in the capital market. As an investor sighed, "Consumer investment is starting to pick up."

In the past few months, the capital market's enthusiasm for consumption has been obvious. We have seen that Pop Mart, Mixue Ice Cream & Tea, and Lao Pu Gold have formed the "Three Sisters in the Hong Kong Stock Market" - their stock prices have all risen astonishingly. While investors are all flocking to hard - tech, they have proved with real money that consumer investment can also yield huge profits. For example, Fengqiao Capital, one of the early investors behind Pop Mart, cashed out about HK$3 billion.

The truth is often simple. The consumer industry has always been considered a sector with rigid demand and anti - cyclical properties, so it is more popular among capital during economic fluctuations. Moreover, with a population of 1.4 billion in China, any business related to food, drink, and entertainment has great potential.

Beautiful things often appear when it is quiet. China's consumer investment is entering a quiet stage, and those who truly love it always believe that the Chinese consumer market will always have "a long slope and thick snow."

Maybe consumer investment is always a good business.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Investment World" (ID: pedaily2012), written by Yang Jiyun and published by 36Kr with authorization.