Chinese Dating App Blued Parent Seeks To Raise $50m In Nasdaq IPO

BlueCity Holdings, owner of China’s biggest dating app for gay men, aims to raise $50 million from an initial public offering of American depositary shares (ADSs), it said in a prospectus filed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.

The offer price for each ADS is yet to be finalised, it said in the prospectus, adding that the ADSs will be traded on the Nasdaq global market under the symbol “BLCT”.

“Being a public company will encourage us to continue expanding our brand globally, improving our corporate governance and optimizing our products and services for the LGBTQ community,” Ma Baoli, founder and CEO of BlueCity Holdings Ltd, wrote in the prospectus.

The proceeds from the IPO will be used for market expansion to gain more users for the company’s Blued dating app, as well as investment in technology such as artificial intelligence and data, BlueCity said in its prospectus.

Founded in 2011, BlueCity says it has 49 million registered users in over 210 countries. It added that it has 6 million monthly active users, 49% of them from outside China.

BlueCity reported revenue of $29.3 million in the three months ended March, according to the prospectus.

AMTD, CLSA, Loop Capital Markets, and Tiger Brokers are among underwriters for the IPO, BlueCity said in the filing.

Reuters