ECM Daily Briefs | Page 10 of 161

In today’s briefing:

Toei Animation Placement: Expensive, but Owns Valuable IP
[Japan ECM] Toei Animation (4816) Not as Interesting An Offering As It Could Have Been
NIO (NIO US/9866 HK): An Opportunistically Timed US$1 Billion Raise
NIO HK/ADS Placement – Slightly Better Placed, but Slightly Bigger Deal at US$1bn
IPO Review: Urban Company – India’s Largest Marketplace for At-Home Services
Zijin Gold Pre-IPO: Peer Comparison
Legence Corp. (LGN): Strong Business Meets Debt Overhang Leaving IPO Investors Skeptical
Chery Auto IPO PHIP Update & Review
Chery Auto Pre-IPO: More Discounts Than Price War Starter
Klarna IPO (KLAR US) – Premium Pricing Out of the Gate, Still a Threat to Affirm’s Current Valuation

Toei Animation Placement: Expensive, but Owns Valuable IP

Toei Animation (4816 JP) ’s shareholder, Fuji Media, is looking to raise around US$210m from a secondary placement.
The deal is a large one to digest, representing 41.7 days of the stock’s three month ADV and 4.9% of the shares outstanding.
In this note, we will talk about the placement and run the deal through our ECM framework.

[Japan ECM] Toei Animation (4816) Not as Interesting An Offering As It Could Have Been

By Travis Lundy

In Feb 2024, I wrote Toei Animation (4816 JP) – This Offering Could Be Heavy; the NEXT Offering Is More Interesting.
Today, the company announced another offering where Fuji Media Holdings (4676 JP) is selling 10.575mm shares in an overseas offering priced likely tomorrow.
It is not as interesting as I had expected. But it means the NEXT offering could be more interesting. But there is index buying long-term anyway.

NIO (NIO US/9866 HK): An Opportunistically Timed US$1 Billion Raise

NIO (NIO US), a Chinese premium electric vehicle manufacturer, has launched an equity offering to raise around US$1 billion.
The raise is opportunistically timed to take advantage of the 83% QTD share price rally and comes hot on the heels of a US$513 million raise in April.
While NIO continues to target a break-even in 4Q25 and reduce its cash burn, the valuation is stretched. A history of false dawns and intensifying competition warrants caution.

NIO HK/ADS Placement – Slightly Better Placed, but Slightly Bigger Deal at US$1bn

NIO (NIO US) is looking to raise around US$1bn via a primary placement in Hong Kong and US.
The company had last raised around US$450m in March 2025. The deal didn’t end up doing well.
In this note, we will talk about the placement and run the deal through our ECM framework.

IPO Review: Urban Company – India’s Largest Marketplace for At-Home Services

By Himanshu Dugar

With rising affluence, India’s home services’ is fast evolving with a focus on enhancing the convenience and quality of life for households. Online home services to grow at 16–22% CAGR.
Urban Company is the largest player (62% market share) with a recognised brand, ~50+k active professionals offering services across 17+ at-home service categories to 6+mn active customers
IPO looks reasonably priced at 7-8x FY27 revenues, considering Indian tech peers trade between 6-10x. We estimate FY25-27 revenue CAGR at 22-25% vs 27% during FY22-25

Zijin Gold Pre-IPO: Peer Comparison

Zijin Gold (2579355D HK) is looking to raise up to US$3.0bn in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO.
It is a global leading gold mining company formed by combining all of the gold mines of Zijin Mining, located outside of China.
We have looked at the company’s past performance in our previous note. In this note, we will undertake a peer comparison.

Legence Corp. (LGN): Strong Business Meets Debt Overhang Leaving IPO Investors Skeptical

The wide $25-$29 range allows for valuation discussion amongst investors and the company.
From 2021 to 2024, their revenues grew at a 39% CAGR and have a $2.8b backlog, however debt overhang remains a concern.
We believe price sensitivity is likely to play a factor and a muted opening is potentially on deck.

Chery Auto IPO PHIP Update & Review

By Douglas Kim

Chery Auto is getting ready to complete its IPO in the next few weeks. It is expected that Chery Auto could raise about US$1.5 -2.0 billion in this IPO.
ROE is super high at 70%+. Chery Auto has one of the highest ROEs among all the major auto companies globally.
Chery Auto has one of the best records among all the major auto companies globally in the past three years in terms of sales and net profit growth.

Chery Auto Pre-IPO: More Discounts Than Price War Starter

By Ming Lu

Chery positions itself in the economy and mainstream markets or accurately below RMB150,000.
Chery provided more discounts than BYD, the price war launcher.
Chery’s stores are far away from the city center in Shanghai.

Klarna IPO (KLAR US) – Premium Pricing Out of the Gate, Still a Threat to Affirm’s Current Valuation

By Victor Galliano

Klarna’s IPO issue price of USD40 implies a market capitalisation of USD15.1bn and, according to financial press reports, the IPO was twenty-five times over-subscribed
The Klarna IPO valuation metrics, versus its peers, still serves to highlight Affirm’s very stretched valuation and we stand by our Affirm sell rating
On the positive side, we highlight PayPal as also the best value play of the major BNPL participants; we also like PagSeguro and Nexi

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Sep 10

Daily Brief ECM: Orion Breweries IPO – Deal Upsized; Lower End Looks Digestible and more

In today’s briefing:

Orion Breweries IPO – Deal Upsized; Lower End Looks Digestible
Zijin Gold IPO Preview
Urban Company IPO – Profitability Just Before the IPO Appears to Be a Mirage
Dalrymple Bay Infra Placement: Cleanup by Brooksfield; Valuation Is Fair
Kotak Mahindra Bank Placement – SMBC’s Kotak Exit to Power Yes Bank Entry
Chery Auto Pre-IPO – Peer Comparison
Annto Supply Chain Pre-IPO Tearsheet
MegaRobo Pre-IPO: Robotics Trend but Losses Widening
Gemini Space Station, Inc. (GEMI): Range Increased, Next Crypto Moonshot Potentially On Deck
Pre-IPO 160 Health (PHIP Updates) – Some Points Worth the Attention

Orion Breweries IPO – Deal Upsized; Lower End Looks Digestible

By Akshat Shah

Orion Breweries’ (409A JP) operations span across alcoholic beverages, tourism and hotel businesses. It aims to raise around US$162m in its Japan IPO which could increase to US$196m (including over-allotment).
Orion Breweries (OBL) has a strong Okinawa market position. Share of overseas sales has been growing (~23% of FY25 revenues), while profitability has also largely been steady.
In our previous note, we looked at the firm’s past performance and peer comparison. In this note, we talk about the pricing updates and IPO valuations.

Zijin Gold IPO Preview

By Douglas Kim

Zijin Gold is getting ready to complete its IPO in Hong Kong this year. A successful IPO of Zijin Gold could fetch as high as US$3 billion in IPO proceeds.
Zijin Gold had sales of US$3.0 billion (up 32.2% YoY) in 2024. Net margin increased from 14.2% in 2023 to 20.8% in 2024.
There has been a sharp increase in the gap between gold AISC (all-in-sustaining cost) and gold price in the past year, leading to higher profit margins of gold producers globally.

Urban Company IPO – Profitability Just Before the IPO Appears to Be a Mirage

By Sreemant Dudhoria,CFA

Urban Company (UCL IN) reported profits in FY25 after years of losses, but the improvement is largely due to temporary cost compression and one-off accounting adjustments.
Revenue growth remains robust (INR11,445m in FY25 vs INR 6,366m in FY23), but profitability sustainability is questionable given competition and structural risks.
Deferred tax credits (INR 2112m in FY25) inflated net profit to INR 2,398m despite thin operating profit (Adj. EBITDA only ₹121m, 1.06% margin).

Dalrymple Bay Infra Placement: Cleanup by Brooksfield; Valuation Is Fair

Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure (DBI AT) is looking to raise around US$347m from a secondary placement.
The deal is a large one to digest, representing 101.8 days of the stock’s three month ADV, despite being 24.4% of total shares outstanding.
In this note, we will talk about the placement and run the deal through our ECM framework.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Placement – SMBC’s Kotak Exit to Power Yes Bank Entry

By Akshat Shah

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) aims to raise around US$700m via a cleanup of its 1.65% stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB IN).
SMBC received RBI’s approval last month to buy a 24.99% stake in Yes Bank (YES IN). As per media reports,the cleanup is to procure funds for its Yes Bank stake.
In this note, we run the deal through our ECM framework and comment on deal dynamics.

Chery Auto Pre-IPO – Peer Comparison

Chery Automobile is looking to raise about US$1.5bn in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO.
Chery Auto is a Chinese passenger vehicle company which designs, develops, manufactures and sells passenger vehicles, including internal combustion engine vehicles and new energy vehicles, both domestically and overseas.
We have looked at the company’s past performance in our previous notes. In this note, we undertake a peer comparison.

Annto Supply Chain Pre-IPO Tearsheet

Annto Logistics Supply Chain Technology (ANNTO HK) is looking to raise at least US$100m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO. The deal will be run by Morgan Stanley and CICC.
It is the leading integrated supply chain logistics solutions provider in China.
According to CIC, it achieved the fastest revenue CAGR between 2022 and 2024, and is amongst the top five comprehensive integrated supply chain logistics solutions providers in China

MegaRobo Pre-IPO: Robotics Trend but Losses Widening

MegaRobo Technologies (MRT HK) is looking to raise at least US$300m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO.
It is the leading provider of autonomous agents in robotics applications in China, dedicated to improving productivity and driving innovation for businesses across both laboratory and manufacturing settings.
In this note, we provide updates on the firm’s past performance.

Gemini Space Station, Inc. (GEMI): Range Increased, Next Crypto Moonshot Potentially On Deck

The underwriters raised the price range from $17–$19 to $24–$26, one of the largest upward revisions in recent memory.
The underwriters re-filed a prospectus and added a $50 million concurrent private placement with Nasdaq on Tuesday morning.
From our years of experience in IPOs and short-term forecasting, one rule stands above the rest: deal dynamics.

Pre-IPO 160 Health (PHIP Updates) – Some Points Worth the Attention

By Xinyao (Criss) Wang

This “high input, low output” model has led 160 Health into a profit predicament when its revenue failed to grow in tandem.The turnaround from losses to profits is far away.
160 Health operates as a distributor, but VBP has shifted more procurement activities to direct transactions between hospitals and manufacturers, thereby reducing pricing flexibility for intermediaries such as 160 Health.
Valuation of 160 Health should be lower than PAGD, JD Health, Alibaba health, who have turned losses into profits and established mature business foundation and model, but higher than ClouDr.

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Sep 09

Daily Brief ECM: Zijin Gold IPO: The Investment Case and more

In today’s briefing:

Zijin Gold IPO: The Investment Case
Hesai Secondary Offering – Stock Hasn’t Corrected Yet
Urban Company IPO – Thoughts on Valuations – Not a Whole Lot of Upside
Klarna Group (KLAR): Discounted Down-Round Valuation Draws Interest, Multiple-Times Oversubscribed
Netskope IPO (NTSK.US): Very Attractive Valuation For a Company That Grows 30%+ Per Year
Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR): Blockchain Lender Growth & Projections Grab Street’s Attention
Mabgeek (麦济生物) Pre-IPO: Incremental Innovation in a Crowded Space
Netskope, Inc. (NTSK): Cybersecurity Firm Sets Terms for IPO Seeking $800m Raise; $6.5b Valuation
StubHub Holdings (STUB): Ticket Marketplace Company Sets Terms, Seeks up to $9.2b Valuation
Chery Auto Pre-IPO – PHIP Updates – Some More Data, Some More Issues

Zijin Gold IPO: The Investment Case

Zijin Gold (2579355D HK) is a global leading gold mining company and the overseas gold segment of Zijin Mining Group (601899 CH). It is seeking to raise US$3 billion.
Zijin Gold hold interests in eight gold mines located in gold-rich regions across South America, Oceania, Central Asia and Africa.
The investment case is bullish due to a diversified mine portfolio, strong growth, an attractive margin profile, robust cash generation, and modest leverage.

Hesai Secondary Offering – Stock Hasn’t Corrected Yet

Hesai Group (HSAI US) plans to raise around US$450m in its secondary listing in Hong Kong.
We have looked at the deal dynamics in our previous note.
In this note, we talk about the deal structure and updates since then.

Urban Company IPO – Thoughts on Valuations – Not a Whole Lot of Upside

Urban Company (UCL IN) is looking to raise about US$220m in its upcoming India IPO.
UCL is a tech-enabled platform offering home and beauty services delivered by trained professionals at customer’s location.
We have looked at the past performance in our previous note. In this note, we talk about the IPO pricing.

Klarna Group (KLAR): Discounted Down-Round Valuation Draws Interest, Multiple-Times Oversubscribed

Commerce network Klarna Group will offer 34.3 million shares at $35-$37 and to debut on Wednesday (9/10).
The direct comp, Affirm, posted a strong quarter but some of Klarna’s metrics are on par or potentially stronger than its competitor.
The valuation, both relative to peers and compared with prior “bloated” rounds, looks far more reasonable this time.

Netskope IPO (NTSK.US): Very Attractive Valuation For a Company That Grows 30%+ Per Year

By Andrei Zakharov

Netskope Inc., a cloud-native cybersecurity company that redefines security and network for the era of cloud and AI, has announced the initial price range for its US IPO.
The offering is expected to be between $15.00 and $17.00 per share, implying a market cap of ~$6.2B at midpoint, ~22% discount to last round valuation of $7.5B.
IPO valuation at midpoint is very attractive valuation for a company that grows 30%+ per year. I have a positive view of upcoming Netskope IPO and see substantial “IPO pop”.

Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR): Blockchain Lender Growth & Projections Grab Street’s Attention

FT Intermediate (FIGR US) is offering 26.3 million shares at $18-$20 and will debut on Thursday, September 11th.
A key driver is Figure Connect, its blockchain-based marketplace launched in mid-2024, which has already transacted $1.3 billion in HELOC volume with 27 marketplace participants onboarded.
The company can significantly reduce middle men and has been gaining market share but still have just a small piece of this large pie.

Mabgeek (麦济生物) Pre-IPO: Incremental Innovation in a Crowded Space

By Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Mabgeek, a China-based clinical-stage biotech company, is looking to raise at least USD 100 million via a Hong Kong listing. CICC is the sole sponsor.
In this note, we look at the company’s core product, MG-K10.
We also look at the company’s pre-IPO investors and management team.

Netskope, Inc. (NTSK): Cybersecurity Firm Sets Terms for IPO Seeking $800m Raise; $6.5b Valuation

Netskope will offer 47.8 million shares at $15-$17 equating to a market cap of $5.7b-$6.5b.
Their revenue was $251.3 million and $328.5 million and their net loss was $206.7 million and $169.5 million in the first half of fiscal 2024 and 2025, respectively.
The company’s financials are strong with 31% revenue growth in the 1H 2025 and is cash-flow positive in a sector that IPO investors typically embrace — cybersecurity.

StubHub Holdings (STUB): Ticket Marketplace Company Sets Terms, Seeks up to $9.2b Valuation

StubHub will offer 34.042 million shares at a $22-25 range and will debut on Wednesday, 9/17.
The company is currently not profitable and revenues had only grown 3% in the 1H of 2025 and has a large amount of indebtedness.
This deal has been highly-telegraphed with the original filing happening in March but the IPO was put on pause after market volatility in April.

Chery Auto Pre-IPO – PHIP Updates – Some More Data, Some More Issues

Chery Automobile is looking to raise about US$1.5bn in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO.
Chery Auto is a Chinese passenger vehicle company which designs, develops, manufactures and sells passenger vehicles, including internal combustion engine vehicles and new energy vehicles, both domestically and overseas.
In this note, we talk about the updates from its most recent filings.

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Sep 08

Daily Brief ECM: Chery Automobile IPO: The Bear Case and more

In today’s briefing:

Chery Automobile IPO: The Bear Case
ECM Weekly (8 September 2025)- Metaplanet, Lifedrink, Koei, Hesai, Orion, Myungin, Hesai, Chery
Myungin Pharm Pre-IPO: Discount to Peers; Potential Succession Planning
SHEIN / Temu / AliExpress: After US Ended “De Minimis” Exemption, Shipments to US Declined 81%

Chery Automobile IPO: The Bear Case

Chery Automobile (CH3456 CH), a Chinese automobile manufacturer, has secured HKEx listing approval for a US$1.5-2.0 billion IPO.
In Chery Automobile IPO: The Bull Case, I highlighted the key elements of the bull case. In this note, I outline the bear case.
The bear case rests on weakening trends of the primary business, gross margin pressure, declining contract liabilities and factoring of receivables.

ECM Weekly (8 September 2025)- Metaplanet, Lifedrink, Koei, Hesai, Orion, Myungin, Hesai, Chery

Aequitas Research’s weekly update on the IPOs, placements, lockup expiry and other ECM linked events that were covered by the team over the past week.
On the IPO front, a few US$1bn+ IPOs are said to be looking to launch later this month, across regions.
On the placements front, deals continue to flow through as the market remains receptive.

Myungin Pharm Pre-IPO: Discount to Peers; Potential Succession Planning

Myungin Pharmaceutical (MYUNGIN KS) is looking to raise up to US$142m in its upcoming Korean IPO.
It specializes in central nervous system (CNS) therapeutics and boasts an extensive product line-up of over 200 CNS products.
In this note, we examine the IPO dynamics, and look at the firm’s valuation.

SHEIN / Temu / AliExpress: After US Ended “De Minimis” Exemption, Shipments to US Declined 81%

By Daniel Hellberg

Postal parcel volume bound for the US fell -81% after exemption ended Aug 29
In many cases, logistics providers unwilling to manage US Customs process
We believe the change undermines US model used by SHEIN, Temu, AliExpress

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Sep 07

Daily Brief ECM: Chery Automobile IPO: The Bull Case and more

In today’s briefing:

Chery Automobile IPO: The Bull Case
China Healthcare Weekly (Sep.7)- Device Inflection Point, WuXi XDC Placement, MIXUE’s Lock-Up Expiry

Chery Automobile IPO: The Bull Case

Chery Automobile (CH3456 CH), a Chinese automobile manufacturer, has secured HKEx listing approval for a US$1.5-2.0 billion IPO.
Chery is the second largest Chinese domestic brand passenger vehicle company, and the 11th largest passenger vehicle company globally.
The bull case rests on market share gains, encouraging NEV segmental performance, good margin profile and cash generation.

China Healthcare Weekly (Sep.7)- Device Inflection Point, WuXi XDC Placement, MIXUE’s Lock-Up Expiry

By Xinyao (Criss) Wang

The inflection point of the policy on medical device is expected to appear this year. High-end imaging, medical robots, AI, and biomaterials are the four fields worth investors’ attention.
WuXi XDC announced Placement to raise HK$1.3 billion net proceeds at HK$58.85/share.XDC will have >30% YoY growth in 2025-2027 but Li Ge/WuXi AppTec’s reduction of holdings is a discordant voice.
MIXUE’s lock-up of shares allotted to cornerstone investors expired. Current valuation is acceptable based on 2025 forecast, but investors need more ‘safety margins’ on valuation due to concerns on outlook

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Sep 06

Daily Brief ECM: Urban Company IPO – Hyperlocal SME Services Increases Disintermediation Risk and more

In today’s briefing:

Urban Company IPO – Hyperlocal SME Services Increases Disintermediation Risk
Klarna IPO (KLAR US) – Underwhelming Valuations Against Key Comparables
WaterBridge Infrastructure LLC (WBI): Peeking at the IPO Prospectus of a Oil & Gas Tertiary Play

Urban Company IPO – Hyperlocal SME Services Increases Disintermediation Risk

Urban Company(UC) is looking to raise about US$220m in its upcoming India IPO.
UCL is a tech-enabled platform offering home and beauty services delivered by trained professionals at customer’s location.
In this note, we look at the company’s past performance.

Klarna IPO (KLAR US) – Underwhelming Valuations Against Key Comparables

By Victor Galliano

Klarna shares are set to start NYSE trading on 10 September; the issue price range implies a market capitalisation of USD12.8bn to USD13.6bn; we believe that its valuation looks underwhelming
The Klarna IPO valuation versus its peers does, however, show Affirm’s very stretched valuation and we downgrade it to a sell; we upgrade Kakao Pay to a neutral from sell
We keep PagSeguro, PayPal and Nexi on the buy list for their value credentials; we believe that PayPal is also the best value of the major BNPL players

WaterBridge Infrastructure LLC (WBI): Peeking at the IPO Prospectus of a Oil & Gas Tertiary Play

WaterBridge Infrastructure filed for IPO on August 22nd and is to likely debut in late September or Early October.
Their customers include active and well-capitalized E&P companies in the areas in which they operate, including BPX Energy, Chevron, Devon Energy Corporation, EOG Resources and Permian Resources.
They had total revenue of 167.8 million and $166.3 million and net loss of $44.5 million and $29.8 million in the first half of 2024 and 2025, respectively.

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Sep 05

Daily Brief ECM: Three Squirrels A/H Listing: Heavy Price Competition; Thin Margins and more

In today’s briefing:

Three Squirrels A/H Listing: Heavy Price Competition; Thin Margins
Klarna IPO Valuation Update: Risk/Reward Profile Looks Good, Sequoia Stands To Be The Largest Winner

Three Squirrels A/H Listing: Heavy Price Competition; Thin Margins

Three Squirrels (TRS HK) is looking to raise around US$200m in its upcoming H-share listing.
It began selling nuts through e-commerce channels. Over the years, it had evolved significantly, growing from a single category nut brand into the largest domestic snack company in China.
In this note, we look at its past performance and other deal dynamics that might impact the listing.

Klarna IPO Valuation Update: Risk/Reward Profile Looks Good, Sequoia Stands To Be The Largest Winner

By Andrei Zakharov

Klarna Group plc, a Swedish fintech giant and largest BNPL player in European Union, is expected to price $1B+ initial public offering next week.
The company’s amended F-1 puts the initial price range per share at $35 to $37, implying a market cap of ~$13.6B at midpoint, down ~70% from peak valuation of ~$46B.
I think risk/reward profile is favorable given large consumer and merchant scale, expansion into digital retail banking services and potential revenue growth re-acceleration into 2026.

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Sep 04

Daily Brief ECM: Tata Capital Pre-IPO – The Negatives – Recent Merger Wasn’t All that Great and more

In today’s briefing:

Tata Capital Pre-IPO – The Negatives – Recent Merger Wasn’t All that Great
Metaplanet Placement: A Look at Other Treasury Play Issuances and Performance
Klarna IPO Valuation Analysis
WuXi XDC Cayman (2268 HK) Placement: Capex to Accelerate Growth Momentum
Myungin Pharm Pre-IPO: Domestic Leader, Partial Monetization for Founders
Genfleet (劲方医药) Pre-IPO: Thoughts on Valuation
Ligent Technologies Pre-IPO Tearsheet
Via Transportation Inc. (CI): Transportation Solutions Provider Sets Terms Seeking $3.5b Valuation
Hesai Secondary HK Offering – Stock Has Been Recovering, a Look at Possible Trading Setup
Pre-IPO Shanghai Forest Cabin Biological-Tech – The Business Model and the Concerns Behind

Tata Capital Pre-IPO – The Negatives – Recent Merger Wasn’t All that Great

Tata Capital Limited (TATACAP IN) is looking to raise up to US$2bn in its upcoming India IPO.
Tata Capital Limited (TCL) is the flagship financial services company of the Tata group and a subsidiary of Tata Sons Private Limited.
In this note, we talk about the not-so-positive aspects of the deal.

Metaplanet Placement: A Look at Other Treasury Play Issuances and Performance

Metaplanet (3350 JP) is looking to raise around US$1bn from a primary placement.
The deal is a relatively small one, representing 4.8 days of the stock’s three month ADV, despite being 22.8% of total shares outstanding.
In this note, we look at Metaplanet and its peers.

Klarna IPO Valuation Analysis

By Douglas Kim

Klarna is getting ready to complete its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.
Klarna is offering 34.3 million shares at $35 to $37 per share. At the high end of the IPO price range, the company would be able to raise $1.27 billion.
Our base case valuation is 5.4% lower than the low end of the IPO price range. Given the lack of upside, we have a Negative View of the Klarna IPO.

WuXi XDC Cayman (2268 HK) Placement: Capex to Accelerate Growth Momentum

By Tina Banerjee

WuXi XDC Cayman (2268 HK) is placing up to 22M shares at the placing price of HK$58.85 per share to raise a maximum gross proceed of HK$1,311M under general mandate.
The company will also issue ~24M shares to its controlling shareholder Wuxi Biologics at HK$58.85 per share for a total consideration of ~HK$1,420M, subject to independent shareholders’ approval.
90% of the proceeds will be used for further expansion of the company’s production capacity in relation to clinical and commercial manufacturing for bioconjugates, drug substances, and drug products.

Myungin Pharm Pre-IPO: Domestic Leader, Partial Monetization for Founders

Myungin Pharmaceutical (MYUNGIN KS) is looking to raise up to US$142m in its upcoming Korean IPO.
Myungin Pharm specializes in central nervous system (CNS) therapeutics, with an extensive product line-up of over 200 CNS products.
In this note, we provide updates on the firm’s past performance.

Genfleet (劲方医药) Pre-IPO: Thoughts on Valuation

By Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Genfleet, a China-based clinical-stage biotech, is looking to raise USD 250 million via a Hong Kong listing. The sole book runner is CITIC.
In our previous insight, we looked at the company’s core products and its management team, as well as investor backing.
In this note, we will provide an rNPV-based valuation for the company.

Ligent Technologies Pre-IPO Tearsheet

By Hong Jie Seow

Ligent Technologies (LGT HK) is looking to raise about US$100m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO. The deal will be run by Citibank and CITIC Securities
Ligent Technologies is a global provider of optical communication and connectivity products that support the high-speed data needs of AI computing networks, cloud services, and telecom infrastructure.
Its main offerings include optical transceivers (including datacom and telecom solutions), optical chips, and optical network terminals. These solutions power applications for data centers, telecom operators and computing systems.

Via Transportation Inc. (CI): Transportation Solutions Provider Sets Terms Seeking $3.5b Valuation

Via Transportation will offer 10.7 million shares at $40-$44 and is scheduled to debut on Friday, September 12th.
Wellington Management has indicated an interest in purchasing up to $100 million in shares of Class A common stock in this offering.
With a large addressable market and solid revenue numbers, the company is positioned nicely for growth in the future.

Hesai Secondary HK Offering – Stock Has Been Recovering, a Look at Possible Trading Setup

Hesai Group (HSAI US) plans to raise around US$200-300m in its secondary listing in Hong Kong.
The company won HK listing approval and filed its PHIP on 31st August 2025. It will look to launch its secondary offering soon.
In this note, we’ll take a look at the deal and talk about the impact of the raising.

Pre-IPO Shanghai Forest Cabin Biological-Tech – The Business Model and the Concerns Behind

By Xinyao (Criss) Wang

FOREST CABIN holds a leading position in camellia oil segmentation, with mid-to-high end positioning and high gross profit margin. But high operating cost will put pressure on net profit margin.
Considering the risk of recession/depression, consumption downgrade and reducing non-rigid spending will be the main theme in short term. 50% YoY revenue growth in 2024 is likely to be unsustainable.
Valuation of FOREST CABIN could be lower than peers. Stock price performance would highly depend on market sentiment, company growth trend, and visibility of profitability at the time of listing.

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Sep 03

Daily Brief ECM: [Japan ECM] Koei Tecmo (3635 JP) Needs to Sell Shares To Stay in Prime ($280mm Offering) and more

In today’s briefing:

[Japan ECM] Koei Tecmo (3635 JP) Needs to Sell Shares To Stay in Prime ($280mm Offering)
Koei Tecmo Placement: Some Non-Fundamental Selling; but Weak Fundamentals
Hesai Group H Share Listing: The Investment Case
Tata Capital Pre-IPO – The Positives – Will Ride High on the Brand Name
Klarna Group (KLAR): Commerce Provider Seeks $14b IPO Valuation After Lengthy Delay
Legence Corp. (LGN): Blackstone Backed Engineering Firm Sets Terms for IPO Seeking $3.0b Valuation
Simcere Pharmaceutical (2096 HK) Placement: Innovative Pipeline Enlightens Growth Prospects
Black Rock Coffee Bar, Inc. (BRCB): Drive-Thru Chain Sets Terms for IPO, Seeking $2.0b Valuation
Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR): Blockchain Lender Sets Terms Seeking $4.1 Billion Valuation
Molbio Diagnostics Limited Pre-IPO Tearsheet

[Japan ECM] Koei Tecmo (3635 JP) Needs to Sell Shares To Stay in Prime ($280mm Offering)

By Travis Lundy

In December 2021, Koei Tecmo Holdings (3635 JP) announced a complex but lower-impact move to increase float share count in order to stay listed on TSE Prime.
Scheme: buyback from two holders plus CB issuance. Unfortunately, shares did not rise enough to convert the CBs so as of March 2025, the tradable share criteria was not met.
So now the two main holders are selling more shares and the company is diluting holders with new issuance to get float/tradable shares up with a US$280mm offering.

Koei Tecmo Placement: Some Non-Fundamental Selling; but Weak Fundamentals

Koei Tecmo Holdings (3635 JP) is looking to raise around US$270m from a primary and secondary placement.
The deal is a large one to digest, representing 37.6 days of the stock’s three month ADV and 6.1% of the shares outstanding.
In this note, we will talk about the placement and run the deal through our ECM framework.

Hesai Group H Share Listing: The Investment Case

Hesai Group (HSAI US), a global leader in LiDAR solutions, is seeking to raise US$300 million through an H Share listing.
On 9 February 2023, Hesai listed on the Nasdaq, raising US$190 million at US$19.00 per ADS.
The investment case is based on a solid competitive positioning, high growth, emerging profitability, declining cash burn, and a reasonable valuation.

Tata Capital Pre-IPO – The Positives – Will Ride High on the Brand Name

Tata Capital Limited is looking to raise up to US$2bn in its upcoming India IPO.
Tata Capital Limited (TCL) is the flagship financial services company of the Tata group and a subsidiary of Tata Sons Private Limited.
In this note, we talk about the positive aspects of the deal.

Klarna Group (KLAR): Commerce Provider Seeks $14b IPO Valuation After Lengthy Delay

Klarna will offer 34.3 million shares at $35-$37 and is scheduled to debut on Wednesday (9/10).
Total revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2025 increased by $199 million, or 15% (17% on a like-for-like basis), compared to the six months ended June 30, 2024.
A “buy-now, pay-later” competitor, Affirm Holdings (AFRM US), has been trading extremely well since April.

Legence Corp. (LGN): Blackstone Backed Engineering Firm Sets Terms for IPO Seeking $3.0b Valuation

Legence Corp set terms for its IPO and will offer 26 million shares at $25-$29 and is scheduled to debut on Friday, September 12th.
The company is private-equity backed by BlackStone and PE-backed deals have struggled, broadly speaking, in 2025.
From 2021 to 2024, their revenues grew at a CAGR of approximately 39% and as of June 30, 2025, they had $2.8 billion of backlog and awarded contracts.

Simcere Pharmaceutical (2096 HK) Placement: Innovative Pipeline Enlightens Growth Prospects

By Tina Banerjee

Simcere Pharmaceutical Group (2096 HK) is placing 120M shares at the price of HK$12.95 per share. The placing shares represents ~5% of the current total issued shares of the company.
The company intends to apply 90% of the net proceeds for the R&D-related expenditures. For context, Simcere has over 60 R&D pipelines of innovative drugs.
Considering strong growth prospect of Simcere, reasonable valuation, and upbeat investor sentiment toward Chinese pharmaceutical sector, we are bullish on the placement.

Black Rock Coffee Bar, Inc. (BRCB): Drive-Thru Chain Sets Terms for IPO, Seeking $2.0b Valuation

Black Rock Coffee Bar (BRCB US) is set to offer 14.7 million shares at $16-$18 equating to a valuation of up to $861 million at the high-end of the range.
Wellington Management has indicated an interest in purchasing up to $30.0 million in shares of Class A common stock in this offering.
Store revenue has increased by the mid 20% in the 1H 2025 and the expansion plan is aggressive. At first glance, we like the risk-reward of this deal.

Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR): Blockchain Lender Sets Terms Seeking $4.1 Billion Valuation

Figure Solutions is offering 26.3 million shares at $18-$20 and will debut on Thursday, September 11th.
Duquesne Family Office LLC has indicated an interest in purchasing up to an aggregate of $50 million of shares as an anchor order.
Figure has grown quickly and profitably, with net income of $29 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $83 million, for the six months ended June 30, 2025.

Molbio Diagnostics Limited Pre-IPO Tearsheet

By Hong Jie Seow

Molbio Diagnostics Limited (1788863D IN) is looking to raise about US$229m in its upcoming India IPO. The deal will be run by Kotak, IIFL, Jefferies and Motilal.
Molbio specializes in point-of-care molecular diagnostics. The company sells hardware devices such as the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) analyzers and consumable test kits tailored to detect specific diseases.
As of FY25, its revenue base remains primarily domestic, with ~80% of revenue from India and the rest from Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. The company manufactures its products in India.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

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✓ Company Data and News
✓ Events & Webinars

Sep 02

Daily Brief ECM: [Japan ECM] Lifedrink (2585) – Fast-Growing Beverage Seller Meets P.E. Firm Selldown and more

In today’s briefing:

[Japan ECM] Lifedrink (2585) – Fast-Growing Beverage Seller Meets P.E. Firm Selldown
Shandong Gold Mining Placement – H-Share Running Ahead of A-Shares
Simcere Pharma Placement – First Primary Raising, past Deals Have Been Mixed
Lifedrink Placement: Cleanup Sale but Placement Properties Are Not Great
Orion Breweries IPO – Smaller Scale Warrants Discount
Aux Electric IPO Trading: Decent Insti Demand; Is Cheap
Klarna IPO Valuation Update: $13B-$14B IPO Valuation Is Cheap Vs. Peers, ~68% Discount To Affirm
Orion Breweries IPO: Turning Local Strength into Growth Abroad

[Japan ECM] Lifedrink (2585) – Fast-Growing Beverage Seller Meets P.E. Firm Selldown

By Travis Lundy

Today post-close, Lifedrink (2585 JP) announced the Sunrise PE funds which own 22% of the company will sell their stake in a clean-up offering with pricing in 8 days.
This offering comes 8 trading days after a new post-earnings all-time-high. At 24x ADV, the offering will increase Max Real World Float by 50+%.
There are some index and buyback supply/demand dynamics to note. It’s a heavy offering, so bullish/bearish may be a matter of horizon.

Shandong Gold Mining Placement – H-Share Running Ahead of A-Shares

Shandong Gold Mining (1787 HK) aims to raise around US$500m via a primary placement, in order to pay down debt.
The H-shares are now trading at all-time highs and have been performing better than the A-shares this year.
In this note, we talk about the deal dynamics and run the deal through our ECM framework.

Simcere Pharma Placement – First Primary Raising, past Deals Have Been Mixed

Simcere Pharmaceutical Group (2096 HK) is looking to raise around US$200m via a top-up placement.
This is the first primary raising by the company since its listing. There have been a few secondary deals, with mixed results.
In this note, we talk about the deal dynamics and run the deal through our ECM framework.

Lifedrink Placement: Cleanup Sale but Placement Properties Are Not Great

Lifedrink (2585 JP) is looking to raise around US$175m from a secondary placement.
The deal is a large one to digest, representing 20.7 days of the stock’s three month ADV, despite being 18.4% of total shares outstanding.
In this note, we will talk about the placement and run the deal through our ECM framework.

Orion Breweries IPO – Smaller Scale Warrants Discount

By Akshat Shah

Orion Breweries Limited’s (409A JT) operations span across alcoholic beverages, tourism and hotel businesses, aiming to raise ~US$126m in its Japan IPO via a mix of primary and secondary offerings.
Orion Breweries (OBL) has a strong Okinawa market position. Share of overseas sales has been growing (~23% of FY25 revenues), while profitability has also largely been steady.
In our previous note, we looked at the firm’s past performance. In this note, we talk about the peer comparison and IPO valuations.

Aux Electric IPO Trading: Decent Insti Demand; Is Cheap