Centurium Capital Near $400 Million Deal to Buy Blue Bottle Cafes From Nestlé

Beijing-based private equity firm Centurium Capital is preparing to acquire Blue Bottle Coffee's global cafe network from Swiss food giant Nestlé in a transaction valued at roughly $400 million, according to reports citing individuals familiar with the negotiations.

Under the proposed terms, the deal would carve out Blue Bottle’s retail footprint across international markets, placing store operations under Centurium's control. Nestlé would hold onto the brand's lucrative packaged coffee and ready-to-drink retail products, allowing the conglomerate to maintain exposure to consumer grocery channels without the operational overhead of managing physical storefronts.

Neither Centurium nor Nestlé has officially announced the agreement, and sources caution that terms could still shift before any formal close is executed.

The Luckin Connection

Centurium is best known as the controlling shareholder that rescued and restructured Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee. Under Centurium's oversight, Luckin leaned heavily into digital-first ordering, lean automated storefronts, and algorithmic supply chain management to overtake traditional retail competitors across Asia.

Nestlé originally acquired a majority stake of around 68 percent in Blue Bottle in 2017 for an estimated $425 million, attempting to tap into the third-wave, artisanal coffee boom. However, scaling a bespoke, high-touch cafe concept globally has consistently proven more capital-intensive than distributed consumer goods.

Why It Matters

Transferring Blue Bottle’s retail outlets to Centurium represents a striking convergence of artisanal brand cachet and hard-nosed retail automation. If Centurium applies the tech-enabled, data-centric operational playbooks refined at Luckin, Blue Bottle could see a sharp pivot toward optimized digital workflows, streamlined store footprints, and aggressive expansion across Asian metropolitan markets where app-driven retail dominates.