This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:07 p.m. on June 29, 2026.
Gong cha, which gained fame for bubble tea, has been put up for sale, and large private equity fund (PEF) managers such as MBK Partners and Bain Capital are understood to be doing preliminary work to jump into the bidding. They are said to be reviewing the possibility of acquiring the Japan business through their Japan offices.
In Korea, Gong cha is often assessed as having low growth potential due to the spread of low-cost coffee and alternative drink brands. In Japan, however, it is sustaining high growth by increasing both the number of stores and visitors. With recent examples in Japan's M&A market of dining-out franchises being valued highly, Gong cha's overall corporate value is being discussed in the upper-1 trillion won range to around 2 trillion won.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 29th, U.S. private equity manager TA Associates selected JPMorgan as lead manager last month and is proceeding with the sale of Gong cha Korea.
Large managers such as MBK Partners and Bain Capital are said to be pursuing an acquisition through their Japan offices. Part of the acquisition funds will be raised from their existing blind funds, with the remainder arranged through acquisition financing from local Japanese financial institutions.
Bidders are reportedly preferring to acquire only the Japan business. That is because the company's overall performance is trending upward centered on the Japan market. In Japan, Gong cha has moved beyond being a tapioca specialty shop to establish itself as a "tea cafe," continuing its growth.
Gong cha released last year's group revenue at about $217 million, up 14% from a year earlier. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $70 million. According to Gong cha Korea's consolidation audit report for last year, Gong cha Japan's revenue was 116.5 billion won, up more than 53% from the previous year (76 billion won). Net income last year was 8.6 billion won, accounting for about 80% of Gong cha Korea's total consolidated net income.
Store-related indicators in Japan are also improving rapidly. According to the retail industry, as of the end of January this year Gong cha operates 220 stores in Japan. The number of annual visitors last year is estimated at about 40 million. The company has set a goal of increasing the number of stores to 400 and annual visitors to 60 million by 2028.
The market expects Gong cha's overall corporate value to form above 1 trillion won this time. Some project it will exceed 2 trillion won. Considering that Burger King Japan was valued at 20 times EBITDA when it was sold to Goldman Sachs in Feb., Gong cha could also be valued at 1.5 trillion–2 trillion won by applying a 15–20 times multiple to global EBITDA of $70 million (about 100 billion won).
Given that the price discussed when a sale rumor surfaced in 2024 was 600 billion–700 billion won, it amounts to remarkable growth in two years. However, since prospective buyers are interested only in Gong cha Japan, there is speculation that the actual sale price will fall well short of that.
Previously, TA Associates acquired Gong cha Korea from UCK Partners for about 350 billion won in 2019. Although Gong cha is a milk tea brand that started in Taiwan, after UCK Partners acquired Gong cha Korea in 2014, it additionally bought equity in the Taiwan headquarters Royalty Taiwan (RTT) in 2017, creating a structure in which the Korean entity assumed global headquarters functions. After TA Associates' acquisition, the global Gong cha Group business centered on Gong cha Korea has been operated under a U.K.-based holding company structure.