Centurium Capital reportedly signs deal to buy Blue Bottle cafes from Nestlé

Centurium Capital, the investment group that is the controlling shareholder behind Luckin Coffee, has reportedly agreed to acquire Blue Bottle Coffee’s global café and store operations from Nestlé for about $400 million, multiple industry outlets reported March 4–5, 2026. Nikkei Asia quoted “a person familiar with the matter” saying, “Centurium Capital Management, the controlling shareholder of Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee, has agreed to acquire Blue Bottle Coffee from Nestle for around $400 million.”

Reporting varies on whether the deal is signed or still in negotiation. Bloomberg-sourced coverage republished by Swissinfo said, “Centurium Capital Partners is in advanced talks to acquire Nestle SA’s Blue Bottle Coffee, according to people familiar with the situation,” and cautioned that “while an agreement might be reached soon, there’s no guarantee yet, the people said.” Daily Coffee News traced a China-based chain of reports from Yicai Global citing LatePost and noted, “Chinese media outlet Yicai Global, citing LatePost, reported that a deal has been signed but not yet finalized.”

Outlets disagree on which Blue Bottle assets transfer and which Nestlé would keep. China-based 36Kr (reported via trade press) described the price as “less than $400 million” and said the transaction would cover Blue Bottle’s global coffee-shop business while Nestlé would retain the consumer goods arm — packaged coffee, instant coffee and ready-to-drink products. By contrast, a Seoul Economic Daily re-report of Jiemian News quoted sources saying Nestlé would retain Blue Bottle’s coffee machine and capsule businesses and described the price as “under $400 million (approximately 580 billion won).”

None of the principal parties had publicly confirmed the transaction as of the reports. Swissinfo/Bloomberg noted that “Centurium didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Nestle declined to comment.” Daily Coffee News said it had reached out to Nestlé, Blue Bottle and Centurium for comment but reported no formal confirmations.

Blue Bottle’s history and footprint frame why this is notable: founded in Oakland in 2002, the brand became part of Nestlé after a 2017 deal in which Nestlé paid roughly $425 million for a 68 percent stake. Nestlé marketing materials cited by trade press say Blue Bottle operates more than 100 cafes across the United States and Asia; Daily Coffee News reported 78 U.S. locations as of December 2025. Swissinfo/Bloomberg noted Blue Bottle has outlets in the U.S., China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

The buyer’s background helps explain strategy. Centurium is Luckin Coffee’s principal backer; Bloomberg and other coverage point to Centurium’s role in turning around Luckin and to Centurium/Luckin’s prior interest in premium targets. CoffeeGeography’s December 2025 reporting captured recent Luckin scale: a quarter with net revenue of US$2.1 billion, net income around US$180 million and an addition of 3,008 outlets that brought its footprint to 29,214 locations at that time. Other outlets cite Luckin store counts ranging from about 16,200 in China (2023 figure) to roughly 31,000 overall in recent statements.

The immediate open items are clear and concrete: reconcile whether a binding sale was signed or whether talks remain advanced; confirm the final purchase price and whether Nestlé will retain packaged or machine/capsule businesses; and determine whether Centurium will operate Blue Bottle separately from Luckin, as Nikkei’s subhead suggested. If the transaction closes at the reported price and scope, it would mark a sizeable specialty-coffee play that returns a high-profile U.S.-born brand to private ownership under a China-linked operator.