China Digest: ChinData Secures $540m, Boqii Raises $70m In Separate IPOs

Despite rising geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington, two Chinese firms – Boqii and ChinData Group – have successfully launched their IPOs in the US market, raising $70 million and $540 million, respectively.

Bain-backed ChinData raises $540m in IPO

Chinese data centre owner ChinData Group has raised $540 million in its initial public offering (IPO) in the US, well within its target, according to its latest filing.

The company sold 40 million American Depositary Shares at $13.50 million, the high end of its $11.50 – $13.50 range, valuing the company at about $4.9 billion.

Chindata had revenues of 810.6 million yuan ($119 million) in the first half of 2020, compared with 221.5 million yuan during the same period a year earlier. Its net loss decreased to 59.4 million yuan in the first half of 2020 from 94.9 million a year earlier.

ChinData is a data centre operator focused on China, India, and Southeast Asia. In its prospectus, the firm said it will use the IPO proceeds to develop and construct new data centres and finance potential investment or acquisitions.

Chinese pet services firm Boqii secures $70m

Boqii Co, a Goldman Sachs-backed Chinese pet products and services platform, raised $70 million in its IPO by pricing 70 million ADSs at $10 each, the low end of its $10-12 range, its latest filing showed.

The IPO gives Boqii an initial market cap of around $680 million, lower than market value of $998 million that the company had expected when it initially filed its prospectus.

Shanghai-based Boqii.com was launched in September 2008 and started as an online pet encyclopedia, as well as a website for pet enthusiasts to exchange and share their pet raising experience.

For the fiscal years ended March 31, 2019 and 2020, net revenues generated from the sale of products were 798.0 million yuan ($117 million) and 767.5 million yuan ($109 million), respectively. It reported a net loss of $24.9 million in the fiscal year ended March 31. In the second quarter, the company posted revenue of $33.7 million and a loss of $6 million.