CJ Foodville attracts $54 mn investment from Arges PE

CJ Foodville, the food service subsidiary of South Korea's CJ Group and the operator of bakery brand Tous les Jours announced on Thursday that it attracted an investment of 70 billion won ($54 million) from the private equity firm Arges Private Equity.

In August, Arges PE was chosen as the preferred negotiator for attracting investment in CJ Foodville. The company is valued at 500 billion won ($373 million) in this fundraising round

To facilitate this investment, CJ Foodville carried out a third-party allotment of 1.29 million new shares to Arges PE. Arges PE becomes the second-largest shareholder in CJ Foodville, owning a 12.3% stake in the company.

CJ Foodville plans to allocate the new funds to bolster the North American operations of its bakery chain "Tous les Jours." 

The company posted five consecutive years of profitability in North America until last year, after turning profitable in 2018.

In September, CJ Foodville unveiled its plan to construct a new Tous Les Jours factory in Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia, the US. The facility is expected to have an annual output capacity of over 100 million items, including Tous les Jours' frozen dough and cakes.

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