Silver Crest, a special-purpose acquisition company, is to merge with coffee chain Tim Hortons China and go public in the US if the deal is approved at a shareholder meeting on August 18. At least two-thirds of stockholders must support the proposal.
Tim Hortons entered the Chinese market in 2019. In May 2020, it received strategic financing of over 100 million yuan (US$15 million) from Tencent. Nine months later, it announced that it had obtained a second round of financing, with Sequoia Capital China, Tencent increasing its stake, and Zhongding Capital co-investing.
By the end of 2021, Tims China had 30 flagship stores, 275 standard edition stores and 85 Tim’s Go stores.
Tims China reported revenue of 57 million yuan in 2019, 210 million yuan in 2020 and 640 million yuan in 2021, but net losses ballooned from 88 million yuan to 380 million yuan.
