What does the Luckin Coffee US relisting push mean for the chain?
Luckin Coffee co-founder and CEO Guo Jinyi said at the 2025 Xiamen Entrepreneurs Day conference that the company is actively pushing to relist on the US main board. The chain listed on Nasdaq in 2019 and was delisted in 2020 over financial fraud. After five years of restructuring, its store count now exceeds 20,000, ahead of Starbucks China, with a market value near US$10.9 billion.
The scandal centered on inflated revenue of more than US$310 million between April 2019 and January 2020, leading to a US$180 million SEC fine and US$175 million in investor compensation. Luckin opened two New York stores in July, and Bloomberg reported that largest shareholder Centurium Capital may bid for Costa, a step tied to its globalization narrative and a contrast with Starbucks success in China.
Luckin Coffee co-founder and CEO Guo Jinyi revealed at the 2025 Xiamen Entrepreneurs Day conference that the company is actively pushing to relist on the US main board under the guidance of the Xiamen Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government. This chain coffee brand, which listed on Nasdaq in 2019 and was forcibly delisted in 2020 due to financial fraud, has undergone five years of comprehensive rectification. Today, its store count has exceeded 20,000, surpassing Starbucks China, with a market value of approximately US$10.9 billion. In July this year, Luckin opened two stores in New York, sparking market speculation about its return to the US. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that its largest shareholder, Centurium Capital, is considering bidding for the British brand COSTA, a move seen as helping to supplement Luckin's globalization narrative.
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According to a video released by the Xiamen Federation of Industry and Commerce, Luckin Coffee co-founder and CEO Guo Jinyi publicly stated at the 2025 Xiamen Entrepreneurs Day conference: "Under the guidance of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, we are actively promoting the process of returning to the US main board for listing." This is the first time Luckin has formally announced its plan to return to the US main board market on a public occasion in China.
Looking back at Luckin's listing history, it successfully listed on Nasdaq in May 2019. However, in January 2020, an 89-page anonymous investigation report accused Luckin of large-scale financial fraud. The US SEC subsequently launched an investigation and determined that between April 2019 and January 2020, Luckin inflated revenue by more than US$310 million. After the financial fraud scandal broke, Luckin's stock price plummeted, and its market value shrank by more than 30 billion yuan.
In June of the same year, Nasdaq forcibly delisted Luckin, and the company also had to face a US$180 million fine from the SEC and US$175 million in investor class-action compensation, totaling approximately 2.5 billion yuan in expenditures that nearly drained its cash flow at the time, causing Luckin to make a dismal exit from the US main board. Afterward, Centurium Capital took over Luckin, removed former board members including Lu Zhengyao, promoted internal executive Guo Jinyi to serve as the new CEO, and launched comprehensive rectification.
Five years later, Luckin, once on the brink of collapse, has grown into China's largest chain coffee brand, with a total store count surpassing Starbucks China. In 2024, it exceeded 20,000 stores, and as of November 11, its market value was approximately US$10.9 billion.
During this period, discussions about when Luckin would return to the US market never ceased. The most recent event that attracted widespread attention was Luckin opening two stores in New York, USA, in July this year. At the time, media noticed that Luckin's New York stores were located near Starbucks stores, inferring that Luckin intended to compete with Starbucks and suggesting this might be a precursor to Luckin's return to a US listing.
However, it was not until November 3 that Luckin first announced its plan to return to the US main board market on a public occasion in China. Guo Jinyi said at the conference that with historical legacy issues fully resolved and the company's business momentum continuing to improve, Luckin Coffee, under the guidance of the Xiamen Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, is actively promoting the process of returning to the US main board for listing. Once this work is completed, it will become a major event with international influence.
Regarding the specific timetable for returning to the US main board listing, Luckin responded to media that "Luckin Coffee will continue to monitor the US capital market, but the company currently has no definite timetable for returning to the main board listing. Our primary task at this stage remains to implement the company's business strategy and focus on development."
It is worth mentioning that Bloomberg recently cited "people familiar with the matter" as saying that Luckin Coffee's largest shareholder, Centurium Capital, is considering bidding for the well-known British chain coffee brand COSTA, revealing that this investment firm has been evaluating whether to make an acquisition offer for COSTA, which is being sold by Coca-Cola. The specific structure of any acquisition plan has not yet been finalized, and it is unclear whether Centurium Capital would bid on its own or through Luckin Coffee.
After this news emerged, Luckin and its major shareholder Centurium Capital did not respond. However, some people in investment circles believe that this transaction rumor helps supplement Luckin's global growth narrative and helps it advance its return to the US main board listing.
Image source: Internet
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