CJ Foodville picks Arges PE as preferred negotiator to attract investment

Arges Private Equity has been chosen as the preferred negotiator for attracting investment in CJ Foodville, the food service subsidiary of South Korea's CJ Group, according to sources in the investment banking industry on Monday.

CJ Foodville, which was valued at 500 billion won ($373 million) in this fundraising round, is said to be in the final stages of negotiations with Arges PE. If finalized, the deal will make Arges PE the second-largest shareholder in the company.

The investment comes as the first-ever external capital infusion for CJ Foodville, which is primarily owned by CJ Corp. with a 96.0% stake as of the end of last year.

CJ Foodville plans to allocate the new funds to bolster the North American operations of its bakery chain "Tous les Jours". The brand recently celebrated the opening of its 100th US location near Manhattan, New York.

"Daily sales per Tous les Jours store in the US surged by about 20% year-on-year," a company source said. The chain has grown from 59 US stores at the end of 2019 to 100 as of now.

Alongside its retail expansion, CJ Foodville is also planning to commence construction on a US factory in the latter half of this year. The total amount to be invested by Arges PE is still under final negotiation.

Write to Jong-Kwan Park at pjk@hankyung.com