Gong Cha - TA

You heard Bain Capital is buying Gong Cha from TA Associates for over $635M but did you know why? Gong Cha was founded in 2006 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and operates across 30 countries with its strongest markets in South Korea, Japan, the US, and Australia. It recorded $217M in revenue in FY2025, up 14%, with EBITDA of $70M. And the Japan business? It alone grew 53% YOY to roughly $87M in revenue. Bain brings in a line of brands, including, Domino's Japan, Fogo de Chão and Skylark. Their plan is to accelerate store growth in Japan and Korea while pushing further into the US. But the deal values Gong Cha at roughly 9X its EBIDTA. A staggering multiple thats betting on its international expansion plans. But TA Associates aren't new to Gong Cha. They invested in 2019 and oversaw the US coast-to-coast franchise consolidation and the rollout of Gong Cha's 2.0 Digital Kitchen dispensing system which are now in 250 stores. But now owned by the same PE firm that scaled Domino's Japan. Can we expect this Taiwanese tea chain finally break the US market at scale under Bain?