Bain Capital Buys Gong Cha for Over $635 Million, Short of the $2 Billion Once Sought

Bain Capital has agreed to buy Gong Cha, the Taiwan-founded bubble tea chain, from TA Associates for more than $635 million, Nikkei Asia reported.

That is well short of the $2 billion TA Associates originally sought for the chain, according to Inside Retail Asia, and less than a third of the opening ask.

Gong Cha was founded in Taiwan in 2006 and now operates roughly 2,200 stores across 33 countries and regions, according to FER Magazine. South Korea, with about 900 outlets, is its largest single market, according to Inside Retail Asia.

Gong Cha Global posted revenue of about $217 million last year, up 14%, with roughly $70 million in EBITDA, a measure of operating earnings before interest, tax, and depreciation charges, Inside Retail Asia reported. On those figures, the agreed price works out at about nine times last year's EBITDA.

TA Associates bought its stake in 2019 from the prior owner, UCK Partners, then known as Unison Capital Korea, for 350 billion South Korean won, at the time about $296 million, according to KED Global. It has been the largest shareholder since.

"TA's investment has been instrumental in supporting our global expansion and the continued development of our business model," said Paul Reynish, Gong Cha's global chief executive.

"The management team's disciplined approach to store expansion has created a strong platform with significant room to grow," said Naofumi Nishi, a Bain Capital partner, who added that Gong Cha has "franchisee economics that are among the strongest in the sector."

Under TA Associates, the chain rolled out a "digital kitchen" store format now running in 250 locations and completed acquisitions of its master franchise rights on the U.S. East and West coasts, according to FER Magazine. In July it signed a 50-unit development deal in Texas, the company's largest direct-franchising agreement to date.

Bain Capital said it plans to back further expansion in South Korea and Japan while speeding up Gong Cha's push into the Americas. J.P. Morgan and NorthPoint advised Gong Cha on the sale, and Nomura Securities advised Bain Capital. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2026.

Coffee's largest retail brands were eventually absorbed by a dominant consolidator in Nestle and JAB Holding. Tea has produced no such buyer, so its biggest brands keep circulating among financial owners instead, and Gong Cha has now made that trip three times in 20 years.

Sources: Bain Capital to buy Taiwan-originated Gong Cha chain for over $635m, Nikkei Asia; Gong Cha changes hands in $635 million deal, Inside Retail Asia; Two decades, four owners: Gong Cha and the limits of the licensing model, Inside Retail Asia; Bain Capital Acquires Tea Brand Gong Cha, FER Magazine; Bain Capital Is Buying Gong Cha, Nation's Restaurant News; Unison Capital in final stages of talks to sell Gong Cha to US PEF, KED Global.