Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP advised on Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company’s significant minority investment in Luckin Coffee, alongside Centurium Capital, the Chinese coffee chain’s controlling shareholder. The deal has an aggregate value of approximately $1 billion.
The investment gives Mubadala exposure to one of China’s leading coffee platforms as the country’s coffee market continues to expand. Founded in 2017, Luckin Coffee operates more than 36,000 stores globally and had nearly 500 million cumulative transacting customers as of June 30, 2026.
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP advised Mubadala Investment Company on its significant minority investment in Luckin Coffee.
The Skadden team was led by Partners Geoffrey Chan, global co-head of investment management and head of the group’s Asia practice, Arthur Chan, M&A, and Jonathan Stone, global head of Skadden’s transactions practices, and includes counsel Brian Wong, investment management, and Asia Pacific counsel Rosanna Passmore, finance.
Kirkland & Ellis is representing Centurium Capital, a leading private equity investment firm with a primary focus on consumer, healthcare and technology sectors, in connection with Mubadala Investment Company’s significant minority investment in Luckin Coffee Inc.
The transaction, announced on September 10, 2026 and subject to customary closing conditions, involved the sale of stakes in Luckin Coffee held by a group of Centurium Capital-managed investment vehicles to a newly formed continuation vehicle also managed by Centurium Capital and in which Mubadala is the lead investor.
An interdisciplinary team from K&E advised Centurium Capital on all aspects of the transaction, including the formation of the continuation vehicle, the purchase and sale of Luckin Coffee shares and acquisition financing matters.
The complex transaction drew on the Firm’s investment funds, corporate, debt finance and capital markets practices. The Kirkland team included investment funds lawyers Jennifer Feng, Jerry Choi, Mack Wan, Nicholas Chan and Aleksander Bakic; corporate lawyers Pierre-Luc Arsenault and Yawen Li; debt finance lawyers Jacqueline Zheng and Sean Zhang; and capital markets lawyer Ann Becchina.
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