China-based noodle eatery chain owner Hefu Noodle has raised almost RMB800m ($124m) in a series E round featuring internet technology group Tencent and real estate developer Longfor Group, 36Kr reported today.
Private equity firm CMC Capital Partners led the round, which included venture capital firm ZWC Partners, while Tencent and Longfor were represented by Tencent Investment and Longfor Capital respectively.
Founded in 2012, Hefu Noodle runs some 340 Chinese noodle restaurants across its home country, having most recently inaugurated its 100th diner in Shanghai. It is in the process of expanding into so-called second and third-tier cities such as Shijiazhuang, Huizhou, Lishui and Zibo.
The company will use the cash to improve its supply chain, create new products and boost digitalisation efforts. Tencent Investment and Longfor Capital had co-led its $68.3m series D round in November 2020, investing together with Meridian Capital and pushing its overall funding to roughly $129m.
The company had secured $31m in a mid-2019 series C-plus round which came two years after $15m in series C funding from similarly undisclosed investors.
Hefu Noodle had closed roughly $7.6m in series B funding from unspecified backers in 2016 following a $4.7m series A the year before backed by Wuhan Unity Asset Management and Wangju Capital.
