(Photo: 123RF)
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The Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee (LKNCY), ousted from Wall Street after an accounting fraud, announced on Friday that it had filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States.
This decision has no direct consequences on the daily operations of the group, a rival in China of the American giant Starbucks.
All of its establishments will remain open in the country and Luckin Coffee will continue to pay its suppliers and employees, a statement said.
But the group is currently negotiating with several creditors the restructuring of its financial obligations and the procedure allows it to stay the lawsuits brought by certain shareholders and other creditors in the United States, justify its lawyers in a document presented to a New York bankruptcy court. .
Founded in 2017, Luckin has experienced ultra-rapid development thanks to the financial support of foreign investors.
But one of its leaders inflated the sales figure in 2019 and the revelation in the spring of 2020 of this accounting fraud caused a scandal.
Without acknowledging or denying the allegations, Luckin Coffee agreed in December to pay a fine of $ 180 million to the American financial markets authority for having falsified its accounts.
The company’s stock traded on the Nasdaq in New York since May 2019 subsequently fell more than 70% before being completely delisted in July.
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