In August 2021 SPAC Silver Crest and Tims China announced a potential merger valued at up to $1.8bn | Photo credit: Tims China

Shareholders at special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Silver Crest Acquisition have voted in favour of a proposed merger with Tim Hortons’ China subsidiary, TH International Limited. 
 

TH International Limited, otherwise known as Tims China, is a joint venture between Restaurant Brands International, which operates Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons, and private equity firm Cartesian Capital.  

In August 2021 SPAC Silver Crest and Tims China announced a potential merger valued at up to $1.8bn, although the figure has since been lowered to nearer $1.5bn. 

Tims China operates over 400 stores across China. In March 2022, investors including Cartesian Capital Group and Silver Crest Management LLC pledged to commit up to $94.5m to fund Tims China's five-year growth plan to open 1,500 Tims China stores by 2027.  

In July 2022 Tims China partnered with Chinese convenience store chain Easy Joy to sell ready-to-drink (RTD) Tims coffee products and reach new customers in the country. Easy Joy operates more than 27,800 convenience stores in China, and has since launched three Tims Express outlets within select Beijing outlets. 

Silver Crest Acquisition is backed by private equity investment firm Ascendent Capital Partners which focuses on ‘Greater China-related investment opportunities’. According to Silver Crest, Tims China’s revenues in 2019, 2020 and 2021 were $8.5m, $31.2m and $95m respectively.