Hony to buy Chongqing hotpot restaurant chain

According to a filing to China's Ministry of Commerce (MofCom), the investment will be made through Hony Capital Fund V, a US-dollar-denominated fund which closed at $2.35 billion in early 2012.

Chongqing Cygnet was founded in 1982 and operates more than 300 restaurants in China. Sequoia Capital and SIG Asia invested RMB200 million ($33 million) for an undisclosed stake in 2007, AVCJ Research's records show. The restaurant chain was expected to go public but shelved plans due to the global financial crisis and then the embargo on domestic IPOs. 

Hony is seeing more buyout opportunities involving healthcare and restaurant chains and it has created two sector-focused operational teams to consolidate these industries, according to John Zhao, Hony's CEO.

China's catering industry, worth RMB2.5 trillion, is highly fragmented. Hony plans to acquire multiple brands and integrate them into a single platform, known as China Restaurant Group, which is led by former Yum Brands' executive Gang Zheng.

Three months ago, Hony agreed to acquire a RMB15 billion ($246 million) stake in Chinese hotel operator Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels Development. In July, the China-focused PE firm bought UK-based restaurant chain Pizza Express for GBP900 million ($1.54 billion).

The hotpot restaurant chain investment is pending regulatory approval.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• Buyouts
• Consumer
• China
• Consumer
• buyout
• Hony Capital