According to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf chief executive and president Mel Elias, the company would be mulling over an initial public offering or a sale as part of its exit strategy in the next few years. "We are not at this juncture ruling anything out. So anything being strategic sale, being initial public offering, anything is on the cards," Elias said.
Should either of the two happen, the funds that would be generated from the exit would be used towards expansion in north Asia and Southern California. Elias also said that the company had been seeking to double its revenue to USD1 billion in five years from its franchises and directly-owned stores. Coffee Bean would be facing competition with Starbucks Corp, who currently is the biggest coffee chain in the world. Starbucks owned one-third of the USD8.9 billion coffee chain market in Asia.
Reuters reported that Elias' statement would be the first time for the chain, who goes by under corporate name International Coffee & Tea LLC, to disclose its financial details to the public.
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