Luckin Coffee reaches $175M settlement over accounting fraud

(Reuters) – Luckin Coffee Inc. shareholders asked a U.S. judge to approve a $175 million settlement of class-action claims that the Chinese rival to Starbucks fraudulently inflated its share price by falsifying revenue.

Lawyers for the shareholders called the all-cash settlement filed on Monday night an “excellent result,” citing Luckin’s liquidation proceeding in the Cayman Islands and its related filing for protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

The accord also covers Luckin officials and underwriters of the company’s $645 million initial public offering in 2019 and a later offering of American depositary shares.

Luckin denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. Its U.S.-based lawyer did not immediately respond on Tuesday to requests for comment.

Founded in 2017, the Xiamen, China-based company ended March with about 5,000 stores.

Shareholders sued Luckin in February 2020, two weeks after short-seller Muddy Waters Research accused it of inflating revenue.

Two months later, Luckin’s share price sank 81% after the company said an internal probe found that its chief operating officer and other staff fabricated about $310 million of sales in 2019, or about 40% of annual sales projected by analysts.

Luckin agreed last December to pay a $180 million fine to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accounting fraud civil charges.

The SEC said Luckin raised more than $864 million from equity and debt investors while the fraud was taking place.

Monday’s settlement requires approval by U.S. District Judge John Cronan in Manhattan, and by a Cayman Islands court.

The shareholders were led by Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden and the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Pension & Relief Fund.

Their lawyers, led by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann, may seek fees of up to 25% of the settlement fund.