alarm:clock

Venture Capital - Wednesday, August 30, 2006

VCs Invest $25M In Inner Mongolian Food Chain

This has got to be one of the funkiest VC deals of the year. Little Sheep, a Baotou, Inner Mongolia-based restaurant chain, has raised $25M in VC funding from 3i Group and Prax Capital.

Little Sheep is China's largest chain of restaurants and is famous for its hot pots. It has more than 700 outlets across China and it has come ashore in the US with restaurants in Monterrey Park and San Francisco. The company expects the most growth in China as its says that China's catering industry posted annual revenue growth of between 15% and 20%. In Taiwan currency, the company's annual business income has exceeded TW$18B.

3i's China portfolio includes outdoor digital media advertising firm Focus Media Holdings, GST Holdings, China's leading manufacturer and distributor of fire-alarm systems by revenue, and semiconductor maker CSMC Technologies.

Read - Chinese Hotpot Restaurant Expands to North America China Franchiser