CJ Foodville secures W70b in funding for US expansion

A rendered image of Tous Les Jours' new US plant, set to be completed by 2025 in Gainesville, Georgia (CJ Foodville)

CJ Foodville, the operator of bakery chain Tous Les Jours and a subsidiary of South Korean food giant CJ Group, said Thursday it has secured funding worth 70 billion won ($54 million) from Seoul-based Arges Private Equity.

With the new investment, Arges has become the second largest shareholder of CJ Foodville with a 12.3 percent stake.

The funding comes three months after the private equity firm was chosen as the preferred bidder to acquire 1.29 million new shares of CJ Foodville in August.

CJ Foodville said it plans to speed up the global expansion of its Tous Les Jours brand, especially in North America.

Having entered the US market in 2004, Tous Les Jours succeeded in turning a profit in its US sales in 2018. Since then, it has maintained profitability for five consecutive years.

In September, the company announced plans to build a new manufacturing plant in Georgia, boasting an annual production capacity of more than 100 million bakery products.

Occupying some 90,000 square meters in the Georgian city of Gainesville, the factory is slated for completion by 2025, aligning with the company's ambitious goal of establishing 1,000 bakeries in North America by 2030.

By Kim Hae-yeon(hykim@heraldcorp.com)