Luckin Coffee raised 7 billion yuan in financing, which was backed by Middle Eastern wealthy families.

According to PE Daily, today (September 10), Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, announced that it has reached an agreement to make a strategic investment in Luckin Coffee.

This investment is jointly completed by Mubadala together with Centurium Capital, the controlling shareholder of Luckin Coffee, with a total transaction size of about 1 billion US dollars.

Not long ago, Starbucks joined hands with Boyu Capital to make a move, and the competition in China's coffee market remains fierce.

Middle Eastern Tycoon Teams Up with Centurium Capital

Unveiling the Transaction Details

More details of the transaction have come to light.

According to the latest 13D/A document disclosed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 9, 2026, this transaction revolves around an entity named Success Cup Limited. According to the formal investment agreement signed on September 5, 2026, Success Cup agreed to acquire a total of 241 million shares of senior convertible preferred stock from Centurium Capital and CCM Lucky.

The document points out that the huge equity acquisition funds mainly come from bank loans — Success Cup has pledged the newly acquired preferred shares and related rights and interests to the creditor bank as collateral.

Subsequently, MIC Industrial Investments 4 RSC Ltd, a dedicated investment entity under Mubadala, made a strategic capital contribution to Success Cup and the underlying assets through this structure, obtaining a minority stake in Luckin Coffee.

Upon the completion of the share transfer, as long as Mubadala's shareholding ratio remains above 5%, it has the right to appoint one director to the board of directors of Luckin Coffee.

To a certain extent, the director seat is the core sign that distinguishes financial investment from strategic investment. Obtaining the seat means Mubadala can directly participate in the discussion of major matters at the board level, including decisions on global expansion, capital operation, major investment and mergers and acquisitions, instead of only passively holding shares and waiting for dividends and share price growth.

After the transaction is completed, Centurium Capital still controls a total of 22.08% of the beneficial ownership of Luckin Coffee (including 571 million Class A common shares and convertible parts), continuing to maintain its solid position as the largest shareholder, while Mubadala becomes its most important international strategic ally through minority equity.

Speaking of Mubadala, it is no stranger to the investment circle.

As the leading sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi, Mubadala is directly led by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. Since its establishment in 2002, Mubadala has made extensive layouts in the global market. According to its official website, the latest assets under management exceed 385 billion US dollars (about 2.77 trillion RMB).

In response to this transaction, Mohamed Albadr, Head of Asia at Mubadala Investment Company, said: "We continue to be optimistic about the long-term investment opportunities in China's consumer sector. Luckin Coffee has created a differentiated technology-driven business model, with digital capabilities running through user operation, product R&D and store management. On this basis, scale advantages and rapid product innovation enable Luckin to keenly grasp consumer trends and respond to demand changes in a timely manner. Relying on our many years of cooperative relationship with Centurium Capital, we look forward to working closely with the management team of Luckin Coffee to jointly support the company to enter a new growth stage in the Chinese and international markets."

Chen Weihao, Partner of Centurium Capital, said: "We warmly welcome Mubadala to become an investor of Luckin Coffee. We believe that Mubadala's industry accumulation, global vision and resource network will help Luckin Coffee achieve continuous innovation and long-term development."

When Starbucks Teams Up with Boyu

Luckin Bounces Back and Starts Its Global Expansion

This is a classic comeback against the odds in the history of the venture capital circle.

Back to April 2, 2020, the accounting fraud scandal of Luckin Coffee broke out suddenly. The storm swept across the company, causing huge turmoil, and Luckin had to delist sadly afterwards.

At the same time, a multi-faction battle for control also kicked off inside the company. After a long tug-of-war, Lu Zhengyao, the former chairman of Luckin Coffee, stepped down, while Centurium Capital — the earliest investor in Luckin with the most voting rights — took control of the discourse power.

In April 2021, Luckin Coffee announced that it had reached a new financing agreement with an entity under Centurium Capital, its existing major shareholder, and Joy Capital, with Centurium Capital leading the round. Of the $250 million raised in this financing, $240 million came from Centurium Capital.

In early 2022, Centurium Capital took action again, jointly with IDG Capital and Ares SSG completed the acquisition of shares held by the founding team of Luckin Coffee, thus becoming the new controlling shareholder of Luckin Coffee. At that time, after the fraud incident, almost everyone's first reaction was to stay away, but this batch of investors waited for opportunities during long-term tracking.

Until May 2025, Li Hui, Chairman and CEO of Centurium Capital, officially took office as the chairman of Luckin Coffee and returned to the board of directors.

Everyone knows the story in recent years: Luckin has achieved a full comeback. According to the latest 2026 semi-annual report, Luckin's revenue in the first half of the year was 27.881 billion RMB, up 31.37% year on year; operating profit was 2.839 billion RMB, up 14.7% year on year; net profit was 1.993 billion RMB, up 10.72% year on year.

As of the end of the second quarter of this year, the total number of Luckin's global stores has exceeded 36,300.

The rise and rebirth of Luckin Coffee has made countless brands realize the huge potential of China's coffee market. During the years when the new consumer investment sector has experienced ups and downs, China's coffee market remains extremely competitive, and the rivalry between Luckin and Starbucks is very intense.

Interestingly, Starbucks also found a helper — last November, Starbucks announced that it had reached a strategic cooperation with Boyu Capital, and the two sides will set up a joint venture to jointly operate Starbucks' retail business in the Chinese market. This milestone cooperation undoubtedly opens a new journey for Starbucks China.

The domestic market is fiercely competitive and reshuffling is already underway. For coffee brands today, global expansion is undoubtedly the most important growth story in the next stage, which is also the greatest significance of Mubadala's investment for Luckin.

The old era has ended, a new cycle has begun, and the story here is far from over.

This article is from WeChat official account "PE Daily" (ID: pedaily2012), written by Yang Jiyun, authorized by 36Kr for release.