3i Group Plc, Europe's biggest listed private equity firm, said yesterday it has led a US$25-million investment in Little Sheep, an Inner Mongolian-based food chain with more than 700 outlets on the mainland.

3i will take an undisclosed stake with co-investor Prax Capital, aiming to profit from the mainland's rising consumer class and fund the roll out of new Little Sheep outlets on the mainland and expand into international markets.

"The reason we like food and beverage so much is the lifestyle change in China, the increasing middle class and their consumer power," said Wang Daizong, a 3i vice president who focuses on the mainland.

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