Following the listing news of catering brands such as rural base, Laoxiang chicken and Laowang, Hefu Laomian, one of China’s chain Chinese food brands, also confirmed that the company plans to implement the overseas listing plan.
In fact, there have been rumors that Hefu Laomian plans to go overseas for listing, but they have not been confirmed. An announcement on Friday confirmed the authenticity of the rumor. It is worth noting that Hefu Laomian obtained financing from Tencent in November 2021.
According to the Juewei Food Co.Ltd(603517) announcement on the A-share listing, Jiangsu Hefu Catering Management Co., Ltd., a joint-stock company of Shenzhen netju Investment Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, plans to implement the overseas listing plan, and signed the restructuring framework agreement of Jiangsu Hefu Catering Management Co., Ltd. with relevant shareholders of Hefu noodles on January 27.
Juewei Food Co.Ltd(603517) the announcement also mentioned that the planned overseas listing of Hefu Laomian will not have an impact on the shareholding ratio of Shenzhen netju, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. If it is successfully listed overseas, it will expand more financing channels and promote the long-term development of its business. At the same time, it will also have a positive impact on the company.
Hefu Laomian is a Chinese pasta direct chain catering brand. It was founded in 2012. It has a pasta brand in the central kitchen supply chain and is regarded as the leader of China’s emerging catering track.
According to the “narrow door data” of China’s catering industry database, the total number of Hefu Laomian stores in China is currently 384, mainly directly operated by brands, and a few airport stores are franchised. Hefu Laomian is mainly concentrated in first tier and new first tier cities, with more than 100 stores in Shanghai.
repeatedly favored by capital
Behind the rapid development of Hefu Laomian, the lineup of shareholders of the company is also very strong. Tencent, Juewei Food Co.Ltd(603517) and other companies participate in the investment, accounting for 11.54% and 4.47% of the shares respectively. The subsidiary of Juewei Food Co.Ltd(603517) has been participating since October 2015.
Hefu Laomian obtained a round e financing of RMB 800 million in July 2021, and set the highest financing record in the following museum industry in the year. According to tianyancha data, the company has accumulated multiple rounds of investment of 845 million yuan from 2020 to 2015.
why did capital rush to enter the pasta track first?
At present, the pasta of Hefu Laomian is a star food in the catering industry.
Previously, Lanzhou Ramen brand Zhang Lala obtained the investment from Shunwei capital and Jinshajiang venture capital, with a valuation of about 100 million yuan; Another brand, Ma Jiyong, has also won the favor of Challenger capital, dangerous peak evergreen and other institutions; “Meet Xiaomian”, which started with Xiaomian, recently announced that it had completed a new round of financing, and the brand was valued at nearly 1 billion yuan.
The main reason why the organization is optimistic about the pasta industry is that at present, the pasta track is in a state of category without brand and low degree of chain. Some companies have upgraded for a subdivision demand or an innovation point, combined with the positioning of high customer unit price and chain boutique, further improved the premium of pasta category, so as to have the imagination space for rapid expansion and profit.
In addition, companies such as Hefu Laomian did not disclose the specific overseas listing location. Previously, catering companies including Haidilao and Naixue tea all chose Hong Kong stocks, but their performance in the capital market was not satisfactory.
Since February 17, 2021, Haidilao’s share price has fallen from HK $85.80 to HK $16.38, with a decline of 80.14% during the period. At present, when consumption is relatively low, the market sentiment for catering stocks is not very high, which also intensifies investors’ concerns about the prospects of the sector.
