ECM Daily Briefs | Page 21 of 160

In today’s briefing:

CATL A/H Listing – High Quality, Large Size Make It Unavoidable but Needs a Discount
CATL H Share Listing (3750 HK): Valuation Insights
PayTM Block – US$242m Secondary Block Deal a Small One to Digest
EToro Group Ltd (ETOR): IPO Window Opening Up; Buyers Pour in for Trading Platform
CATL A/H Listing – More like ADR Secondary Listing than an A/H Listing – Performance & Subscription
ESR Kendall REIT’s 150 Billion Won Capital Raise and Continued Outperformance of Korean REITs
Belrise Industries Pre-IPO – Expansion Plans and Related Party Risks
Chagee Holdings – Debut Is the Peak, and Then It Wanes?

CATL A/H Listing – High Quality, Large Size Make It Unavoidable but Needs a Discount

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) (300750 CH) , one of the world’s largest battery solutions providers, aims to raise around US$4bn in its H-share listing.
CATL is the global leader in new energy vehicle battery solutions, in China and globally, as per SNE Research. Its A-shares have been listed since 2018.
We have looked at the company’s past performance in our earlier notes. In this note, we talk about the IPO pricing.

CATL H Share Listing (3750 HK): Valuation Insights

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) (300750 CH) has launched its H Share listing at a maximum price of HK$263. Pricing will be on 19 May, and the listing on 20 May.
I discussed the H Share listing in CATL H Share Listing: The Investment Case, CATL H Share Listing: AH Discount Views, CATL H Share Listing: PHIP Reinforces the Investment Case.
Our valuation analysis suggests that the low AH discount can be justified. We would participate in the listing.

PayTM Block – US$242m Secondary Block Deal a Small One to Digest

Antfin (Netherlands) Holding B.V. (Antfin) is looking to raise up to US$242m via selling a 4% stake in Paytm (PAYTM IN).
Antfin has been selling off its stake since it pared around 12% in its Nov’21 IPO. As of date of writing, it had a 9.85% stake remaining in the firm.
In this note, we run the deal through our ECM framework and comment on deal dynamics.

EToro Group Ltd (ETOR): IPO Window Opening Up; Buyers Pour in for Trading Platform

An early channel check of this deal revealed that the offering is multiple-times oversubscribed with continued 1-on-1 conversions. The books close Monday at 4pm.
The company is targeting the “next generation” of investor with encouraging growth and has the metrics to show they are meaningfully headed in the right direction.
Our sources state that want to be involved with the name and we believe an explosive debut could be on tap for this IPO.

CATL A/H Listing – More like ADR Secondary Listing than an A/H Listing – Performance & Subscription

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) (300750 CH) , one of the world’s largest battery solutions providers, aims to raise around US$4bn in its H-share listing.
CATL is the global leader in new energy vehicle battery solutions, in China and globally, as per SNE Research. Its A-shares have been listed since 2018.
In this note, we talk about the IPO pricing and how it compares to some of the past listings.

ESR Kendall REIT’s 150 Billion Won Capital Raise and Continued Outperformance of Korean REITs

On 9 May, ESR Kendall Square REIT (365550 KS) announced that it plans to conduct a rights offering capital increase of approximately 150 billion won.
The Korean REIT sector started to bottom out in 2023, after big underperformance in the previous three years.
The interest rate gap on the company’s expected dividend yield (5.7%) is now nearly 3% higher than the 10 year South Korean government bond yield (2.7%) which is meaningful.

Belrise Industries Pre-IPO – Expansion Plans and Related Party Risks

Belrise Industries (9156339Z IN) is looking to raise about US$255m in its upcoming India IPO.
Belrise Industries is an automotive component manufacturing company based in India offering a diverse range of safety critical systems and other engineering solutions for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, commercial and agri-vehicles.
In this note, we talk about the company’s historical performance.

Chagee Holdings – Debut Is the Peak, and Then It Wanes?

The core reason for the success of Chagee lies in the Company finding an effective “shortcut” of business model – “minimalism”, but this model does not imply a high moat.
A likely situation is Chagee’s future growth in domestic market would be limited, and the overseas expansion could be unsatisfactory.So, we recommend investors to be cautious about the valuation prospects.
If domestic competition intensifies or overseas expansion falls short of expectations, it is highly likely that the stock price will fall back to the range of US$25-30/share or even lower.

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May 12

Daily Brief ECM: Curator’s Cut: “Bubble” Tea and more

In today’s briefing:

Curator’s Cut: “Bubble” Tea, Japan M&A 🍿and TSMC from Different Lenses
How NXT (ATS) Affects Event Pricing from a Microstructure Perspective
Weekly Deals Digest (11 May) – CATL, Hengrui, Imagica, MitShokuhin, NTT Data, Shibaura, Torii, ZEEKR
ECM Weekly (12 May 2025) – CATL, Hengrui, Ather, Drinda, Green Tea, Swiggy, Sagility, Niva Bupa
Pre-IPO Green Tea Group – Thoughts on IPO Pricing and Valuation Outlook

Curator’s Cut: “Bubble” Tea, Japan M&A 🍿and TSMC from Different Lenses

By Pranav Rao

Welcome to Curator’s Cut, a fortnightly roundup of standout themes from the 1,200+ insights published over the past two weeks on Smartkarma
In this cut, we look through the bubble in Chinese tea company listings, the recent entertainment provided by Japanese M&A situations and the varied ways analysts look at TSMC on Smartkarma
Want to dig deeper? Comment or message with the themes you think should be highlighted next time

How NXT (ATS) Affects Event Pricing from a Microstructure Perspective

By Sanghyun Park

Next day’s base price uses the 3:30pm close—NXT’s after-hours moves don’t count. That small gap can impact rights offerings, as seen in Samsung SDI’s pricing delta on April 8.
NXT after-hours volumes count toward VWAP. So in uptrends, they can impact pricing—possibly with Samsung SDI’s final reference price on May 16.
No shorting allowed after 3:30pm on NXT, leading to inefficiencies—while not yet fit for latency arb, it’s ripe for tactical day–night spread plays and re-entry timing.

Weekly Deals Digest (11 May) – CATL, Hengrui, Imagica, MitShokuhin, NTT Data, Shibaura, Torii, ZEEKR

A weekly summary of key developments across ECM and Event-Driven names tracked by us across Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, India and Chinese ADRs.
ECM developments: Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) (300750 CH) and Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine (600276 CH) are set to launch H Share listings.
Event-Driven developments: Imagica Robot Holdings (6879 JP), Mitsubishi Shokuhin (7451 JP), NTT Data Corp (9613 JP), Shibaura Electronics (6957 JP), Torii Pharmaceutical (4551 JP), ZEEKR (ZK US).

ECM Weekly (12 May 2025) – CATL, Hengrui, Ather, Drinda, Green Tea, Swiggy, Sagility, Niva Bupa

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, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) (300750 CH) and Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine (600276 CH) are gearing up for an IPO launch soon.
On the placements front, there were two primary placements in Hong Kong, along with a number of lockup expiries coming up.

Pre-IPO Green Tea Group – Thoughts on IPO Pricing and Valuation Outlook

The HK$7.19/share IPO pricing is attractive. The valuation safety margin reserved for the IPO of Green Tea may be mainly due to the management’s consideration of attracting long-term funds.
If the market sentiment is positive, combined with conservative IPO pricing, Green Tea would still perform well after listing. For example, valuation has the potential to recover to 15x P/E.
However, when scale expansion fails to bring efficiency improvement,“cracks” appear in the core logic of the capital story.So, taking profits when Green Tea’s valuation exceeds Xiaocaiyuan is a good option.

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May 11

Daily Brief ECM: SHEIN Vs Amazon and more

In today’s briefing:

SHEIN Vs Amazon, Part II: What Changed Since Our Last Shopping Adventure? SHEIN Cost Nearly Tripled!

SHEIN Vs Amazon, Part II: What Changed Since Our Last Shopping Adventure? SHEIN Cost Nearly Tripled!

By Daniel Hellberg

Recently we revisited the SHEIN vs Amazon shopping comparison we first tried in Dec 2023
For the items we purchased 17 months ago, total cost at AMZN was largely unchanged
But at SHEIN, those items almost tripled in cost, still feature slow transits, difficult returns

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May 10

Daily Brief ECM: Green Tea Group IPO – Peer Comp & Thoughts on Valuation and more

In today’s briefing:

Green Tea Group IPO – Peer Comp & Thoughts on Valuation
Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited (AHL): Attractive Valuation Brings Buyers, Trades Well in Week One
Canara Robeco AMC Pre-IPO Tearsheet
American Integrity Insurance Group (AII): Sector Dedicated Buyers Get a Winner on Opening Pop

Green Tea Group IPO – Peer Comp & Thoughts on Valuation

By Troy Wong

Green Tea Group (GTG) is looking to raise US$157m (HKD 1.2bn) in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO.
GTG is the fourth largest Casual Chinese Cuisine player in Mainland China, it has been gaining market share historically and is likely to continue.
GTG plans to accelerate its expansion of the restaurant network, focusing on expansion into tier two cities and below, with small restaurants rather than large ones.

Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited (AHL): Attractive Valuation Brings Buyers, Trades Well in Week One

The stock opened at $33.25 versus the $30.00 issue price for a gain of 10.8% at first trade.
According to guidance that the deal finished north of 10-times oversubscribed. The guidance pointed to a midpoint pricing and that is where the final outcome occurred.
The sponsor, Apollo Global, is known for being a shrewd entity and a stickler on price, however, in this instance investors saw solid value in the company.

Canara Robeco AMC Pre-IPO Tearsheet

Canara Robeco AMC (570515Z IN) is looking to raise about US$176m in its upcoming India IPO. The deal will be run by Axis, JM Fin and SBI Caps.
Canara Robeco is an asset management company engaged in managing mutual funds and providing investment advice on Indian equities to Robeco Hong Kong Limited, a member of the Promoter Group.
According to CRISIL, it is India’s second oldest asset management company.

American Integrity Insurance Group (AII): Sector Dedicated Buyers Get a Winner on Opening Pop

Specialty insurer American Integrity Insurance Group (AII US) came to market Thursday with solid interest from sector-dedicated investors producing a 15.6% winner at first trade.
According to our sources, the deal was well-oversubscribed which equates to roughly 5x-6x in terms of granular subscription levels.
Given the choppiness of the broad market in April and the temporary pause in the IPO market, the insurance sector was the perfect area to lead the comeback.

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May 09

Daily Brief ECM: Laopu Gold (6181 HK): Heritage Luxury and more

In today’s briefing:

Laopu Gold (6181 HK): Heritage Luxury, Guochao Appeal. Key Facts, Financials & Valuation
EToro IPO Valuation: First-Day IPO Pop Is Possible, But The Stock May Struggle To Hold Gains
D’Alba Global IPO Bookbuilding Results Analysis
Niva Bupa Health Insurance IPO Lockup-Bunch of PE Investors Could Pare Around US$500m Worth of Stock

Laopu Gold (6181 HK): Heritage Luxury, Guochao Appeal. Key Facts, Financials & Valuation

By Devi Subhakesan

Laopu Gold (6181 HK) targets to raise approximately USD350 mn from a primary placement of 4.31 million new shares at HKD630 per share.
Laopu Gold has delivered both superior margins and rapid growth by marrying cultural resonance, premium pricing, artisanal excellence, and outstanding store economics.
Laopu’s growth track record coincides with period of rising gold prices. Investors should weigh its impressive margins and brand strength against the risk of a less supportive gold price environment.

EToro IPO Valuation: First-Day IPO Pop Is Possible, But The Stock May Struggle To Hold Gains

By Andrei Zakharov

EToro Group Ltd., a social trading platform, sets terms for upcoming IPO in the United States. The online broker offers 10M Class A shares at range of $46.00-$50.00 per share.
At the midpoint of price range, eToro would command a market value of ~$4B on a fully-diluted basis. The selling shareholders offer 5M Class A shares.
BlackRock has indicated a non-binding interest in purchasing up to $100M worth of eToro shares. However, these shares will not be subject to a lock-up agreement.

D’Alba Global IPO Bookbuilding Results Analysis

The IPO price of d’Alba Global has been finalized at 66,300 won which is at the high end of the IPO price range.
The demand ratio of the IPO was 1,141 to 1. A 98.4% of the IPO shares applied thought that the value of the company is 66,300 won or more.
Our base case valuation of d’Alba Global is a target price of 101,609 won per share, which represents 53% higher than the IPO price of 66,300 won.

Niva Bupa Health Insurance IPO Lockup-Bunch of PE Investors Could Pare Around US$500m Worth of Stock

Niva Bupa Health Insurance (1226871D IN) (Niva Bupa) raised around US$260m in its India IPO in Nov 2024. The lockup on its pre-IPO investors is set to expire soon.
Niva Bupa is a health insurance firm. Its portfolio consists of health (including retail and group), personal accident, and travel insurance.
In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics, possible placement and updates since our last note.

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May 08

Daily Brief ECM: CATL H Share Listing: PHIP Reinforces the Investment Case and more

In today’s briefing:

CATL H Share Listing: PHIP Reinforces the Investment Case
Ant Group Considering on Listing Overseas Unit Ant International in Hong Kong
Urban Company Ltd Pre-IPO Tearsheet
Canara HSBC Life Insurance Pre-IPO Tearsheet
Auntea Jenny (2589 HK): What Is the Fair Value?
Hainan Drinda New Energy (A/H IPO) Trading – Tepid Demand, No Over-Allotment
Pre-IPO Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine H Share Listing (PHIP Updates) – Some Points Worth the Attention
CATL: Key Highlights in 1Q 2025 and PHIP Updates on Hong Kong Listing
Jiangsu Hengrui Pharma A/H Listing – PHIP Updates and Updated Thoughts on A/H Premium

CATL H Share Listing: PHIP Reinforces the Investment Case

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) (300750 CH), the world’s largest supplier of EV and ESS batteries, has filed its PHIP for an H-Share listing to raise US$5 billion.
I previously discussed the H Share listing in CATL H Share Listing: The Investment Case and CATL H Share Listing: AH Discount Views.
In this note, I examine the latest results and developments outlined in the PHIP. Overall, the PHIP reinforces my positive view.

Ant Group Considering on Listing Overseas Unit Ant International in Hong Kong

Ant Group is considering on listing its overseas unit Ant International in Hong Kong. Ant International contributes approximately 20% to Ant Group’s total revenue.
Ant International operates four core business lines: Alipay+ (cross-border payment platform), Antom (global merchant acquiring network), WorldFirst (remittance service), and Bettr (digital payment solution).
Given the growing political to delist Chinese stocks from the US exchanges, there could be a greater political pressure on the Chinese government to approve Chinese IPOs in Hong Kong.

Urban Company Ltd Pre-IPO Tearsheet

By Rosita Fernandes

Urban Company (URBAN IN) (UCL) is looking to raise about US$223m in its upcoming India IPO. The bookrunners for the deal are Kotak, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JM Fin.
UCL is a tech-enabled platform offering home and beauty services delivered by trained professionals at customer’s location.
As of Dec 24, it operated in 59 cities across India and overseas.

Canara HSBC Life Insurance Pre-IPO Tearsheet

Canara HSBC Life Insurance (2908709Z IJ) is looking to raise about US$354m in its upcoming India IPO with bookrunners HSBC, JM Fin, Motilal, BNP Paribas and SBI Caps.
Canara HSBC Life Insurance is a private life insurer in India and promoted by Canara Bank and HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Limited, a member of the HSBC group.
According to CRISIL, it was ranked second amongst public sector bank-led life insurers in India based on the number of lives covered for FY24.

Auntea Jenny (2589 HK): What Is the Fair Value?

By Osbert Tang, CFA

Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial (2589 HK)‘s IPO price is set at HK$113.12, which is aggressive based on its financial and operational metrics.
At 29.3x FY25F PER, Auntea Jenny’s multiple is close to Mixue Group (2097 HK) and Guming Holdings (1364 HK), but it is significantly smaller in scale and lower in profitability.
Our fair value of 25x PER and 5.3x P/B for FY25 means a share price of HK$94.70-96.68. Initial euphoria may inflate its debut, but we will exit on the rally.

Hainan Drinda New Energy (A/H IPO) Trading – Tepid Demand, No Over-Allotment

Hainan Drinda Automotive Trim (002865 CH) (HDNET) raised around US$180m via its A/H listing.
HDNET is a specialized manufacturer of PV cells which are used in making PV modules.
We have looked at the company’s past performance and other deal dynamics, in our earlier notes. In this note, we talk about the trading dynamics.

Pre-IPO Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine H Share Listing (PHIP Updates) – Some Points Worth the Attention

Hengrui’s high growth in 2024/25Q1 mainly relies on the realization of BD cooperation. The short-term performance improvement cannot conceal the long-term pressure. The turning point of endogenous growth hasn’t arrived.
Hengrui would continue to be affected by VBP. The generic drug business is “outdated”, whose valuation contribution is negligible. The BD model will lead to significant fluctuations in performance.
Our forecast is net profit YoY growth in 2025-2027 would fall back to 15-20%. Hengrui’s valuation should be lower than that of BeiGene and Hansoh in Hong Kong stock market.

CATL: Key Highlights in 1Q 2025 and PHIP Updates on Hong Kong Listing

CATL reported a 6.2% YoY increase in revenue in 1Q 2025. EV battery sales rose 14.0% YoY driven by healthy demand offset by lower ESS battery sales.
CATL provided discussions about ongoing tariff disputes. It mentioned that the overall impact and outcome remain uncertain. The U.S. market accounts for about 7% of CATL’s total EV battery business.
We maintain a Positive View of CATL. Our base case valuation of CATL is implied market cap of 1.3 trillion CNY which is 32% higher than current market cap.

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharma A/H Listing – PHIP Updates and Updated Thoughts on A/H Premium

Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine (600276 CH) (JHP), a China-based pharmaceutical company, aims to raise around US$2bn in its H-share listing.
JHP has been ranked as one of the global Top 50 pharmaceutical companies by Pharm Exec for six consecutive years since 2019.
We have looked at the past performance and other dynamics in our previous note. In this note, we talk about the updates and provide our thoughts on the A/H premium.

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May 07

Daily Brief ECM: Chery Auto Pre-IPO – The Negatives – Small NEV Portfolio and more

In today’s briefing:

Chery Auto Pre-IPO – The Negatives – Small NEV Portfolio
Busy Ming IPO: Hyper Growth and Solid Profitability, Largest Snack and Beverage Retailer in China
Jiangsu Hengrui Pharma H Share Listing: The Investment Case
CATL A/H Listing – PHIP Updates and Updated Thoughts on A/H Premium
Sagility India IPO Lockup – US$1.5bn Lockup Release; PE Promoter Will Have to Trim for Free-Float
Initial Thoughts on the Musinsa IPO
Pre-IPO Xuanzhu Biopharmaceutical- Outdated Pipelines Are Difficult to Bring Good Investment Returns
Axbio (安序源) Pre-IPO: First Take of the Deal

Chery Auto Pre-IPO – The Negatives – Small NEV Portfolio

Chery Automobile is looking to raise about US$1bn 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 not-so-positive aspects of the deal.

Busy Ming IPO: Hyper Growth and Solid Profitability, Largest Snack and Beverage Retailer in China

By Andrei Zakharov

Busy Ming Group, “a snack brand for the people” and the largest snack and beverage chain retailer in China, filed for an IPO in Hong Kong.
The fast-growing retailer was backed by HongShan Capital, Gaorong Ventures, 5Y Capital, Haoxiangni Health Food, and Yanker Shop Food Co., among others.
Busy Ming Group is tapping into Gen Z and younger millennial consumers with playful branding and social media engagement.

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharma H Share Listing: The Investment Case

Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine (600276 CH), a leading Chinese pharmaceutical company, has filed its PHIP for an H Share listing to raise US$2 billion.
Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals (JHR HK) ranked first among Chinese pharma companies in revenue from NME drugs in 2023 and the number of commercialised NME drugs in 2024.
The investment case rests on its product portfolio, strong revenue growth, rising profitability, cash generation, strong balance sheet and undemanding valuation.

CATL A/H Listing – PHIP Updates and Updated Thoughts on A/H Premium

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) (300750 CH), one of the world’s largest battery solutions providers, aims to raise around US$5bn in its H-share listing.
CATL is the global leader in new energy vehicle battery solutions, in China and globally, as per SNE Research. Its A-shares have been listed since 2018.
We have looked at the company’s past performance and valuations in our earlier notes. In this note, we talk about its recent updates and provide updated thoughts on valuations.

Sagility India IPO Lockup – US$1.5bn Lockup Release; PE Promoter Will Have to Trim for Free-Float

Sagility India (2058883D IN) (Sagility) raised around US$250m in its India IPO in Nov 2024. The lockup on its pre-IPO investors is set to expire soon.
Sagility is a pure-play healthcare focused solutions and services provider to Payers (U.S. health insurance companies), and Providers (primarily hospitals, physicians, and diagnostic and medical devices companies).
In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics, possible placement and updates since our last note.

Initial Thoughts on the Musinsa IPO

Musinsa is getting ready to complete its IPO in 2H 2025. Musinsa is the top fashion online/mobile platform in Korea.
The market value of Musinsa is expected to be about 5 trillion won which could be one of the largest IPOs in Korea this year.
Musinsa had its best ever results in 2024 with sales of 1.2 trillion won (up 25.1% YoY), operating profit of 102.8 billion won, and net profit of 69.8 billion won.

Pre-IPO Xuanzhu Biopharmaceutical- Outdated Pipelines Are Difficult to Bring Good Investment Returns

The main purpose for Sihuan to acquire Combio is to form a strong innovative drug business Xuanzhu and then make large capital gains from the subsequent spin-off and listing.
All the three Core Products need to face fierce competition, and their clinical data do not show obvious advantages to competing products, making them hard to stand out.
Based on the announcement on Nov.12, 2024, valuation of Xuanzhu was RMB8.5 billion. However, due to the lack of competitive pipelines and weak commercialization prospects, we think Xuanzhu is overvalued.

Axbio (安序源) Pre-IPO: First Take of the Deal

By Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Axbio, a China-based technology company, is looking to raise at least USD 100 million via a Hong Kong listing. CICC and SPDB are the joint sponsors.
In this note, we took a quick look at the core products and key products, as well as its management team.
Although there are interesting takes from the prospectus, we are not convinced on the prospect of the deal yet.

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May 06

Daily Brief ECM: CATL: Launch of Book Building for Hong Kong Listing and more

In today’s briefing:

CATL: Launch of Book Building for Hong Kong Listing
EToro Group Ltd (ETOR): Retail Trading Platform Eyeing $4b Valuation; BlackRock in on the IPO
Pre-IPO Kayou – The Strength of Business Model and the Potential Risks Behind
Ather Energy IPO: Likely Muted Debut. Promoter Dynamics Shift—Potential Upside or Risk?
Ather Energy IPO Trading – Running Out of Charge
Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited (AHL): Valuation Entices Investors as Orders Flow into IPO
American Integrity Insurance Group (AII): Specialty Insurer Eyes IPO, Winner in Florida

CATL: Launch of Book Building for Hong Kong Listing

According to Reuters, CATL plans to launch its Hong Kong listing process including book building during the week of 12 May.
We estimate CATL to generate revenue of 423.6 billion RMB (up 17% YoY) and net profit of 55.6 billion RMB (up 13.1% YoY) in 2025.
Our base case valuation of CATL is implied market cap of 1.3 trillion CNY which is 32% higher than current market cap. We believe CATL’s shares are undervalued.

EToro Group Ltd (ETOR): Retail Trading Platform Eyeing $4b Valuation; BlackRock in on the IPO

The company set terms with a F-1/A putting 10 million shares for sale at a range of $46-$50 which would value the company as high as $4.05b.
BlackRock and funds managed by BlackRock placed a 20-percent cornerstone investment order and is on the cover of the prospectus.
The blueprint to getting an IPO out the door during this time is to shrink the size of the transaction, bring in a cornerstone investor and provide an attractive valuation.

Pre-IPO Kayou – The Strength of Business Model and the Potential Risks Behind

Kayou’s business model revolves around IP licensing+blind box+multi-category expansion.With trading cards as the core traffic entry point, Kayou expands to other products, forming a synergistic effect of “card revenue+derivative products”.
Kayou mainly relies on licensed IPs to drive growth, Its revenue are highly concentrated on limited number of IPs. The expiration of IP license agreements is “The Sword of Damocles”
Valuation could be lower than peers as the core risks are concentrated on IP renewal and the government’s supervision of minors, which would negatively affect the sustainability of future growth.

Ather Energy IPO: Likely Muted Debut. Promoter Dynamics Shift—Potential Upside or Risk?

By Devi Subhakesan

Ather Energy (1207922D IN) lists on Indian stock exchanges today with expectations of a subdued debut.
Following its IPO, and early VC investors gradually reducing their stakes, the ownership and influence dynamics may begin to tilt more toward Hero Motocorp (HMCL IN) that now owns 30%.
Is this shift a threat to Ather’s innovation-driven DNA, or should investors support a stronger collaboration with Hero Motocorp to unlock accelerated growth and take on competition from ICE incumbents?

Ather Energy IPO Trading – Running Out of Charge

Ather Energy (1207922D IN) raised around US$350m in its India IPO.
Ather is a pure play electric vehicle company in India designing and developing E2Ws, battery packs, charging infrastructure, associated software and accessories, also manufacturing battery packs and assembling E2Ws in-house.
In our previous note, we looked at the company’s past performance and valuations. In this note, we talk about the trading dynamics.

Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited (AHL): Valuation Entices Investors as Orders Flow into IPO

According to guidance that the deal is multiple-times oversubscribed with high-quality 1-on-1 conversions.
Aspen is selling itself at or slightly below the $30.73 per share book value of comps.
Apollo Global has done a fair job of cleaning up Aspen and making it increasingly more profitable while reducing exposure to reinsurance and property in vulnerable areas.

American Integrity Insurance Group (AII): Specialty Insurer Eyes IPO, Winner in Florida

According to our sources, the deal is oversubscribed with a good amount of accounts still to hear from.
Management has strong numbers as of year-end 2024 and have gained even more momentum in Q1 2025.
While smaller in size, this company has a sustainable expansion plan and a profitable balance sheet with a tailwind from a growing Florida market.

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May 05

Daily Brief ECM: ECM Weekly (5 May 2025) – CATL and more

In today’s briefing:

ECM Weekly (5 May 2025) – CATL, Chery, Ather, Drinda, Eco-Shop, Green Tea, DN Sol, Lotte Glo, Hanwha
Pre-IPO CF PharmTech – The Outlook Is Bleak Due to VBP and Fierce Competition

ECM Weekly (5 May 2025) – CATL, Chery, Ather, Drinda, Eco-Shop, Green Tea, DN Sol, Lotte Glo, Hanwha

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, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) (300750 CH) is said to be gearing up for an IPO launch this month, as per media reports.
On the placements front, Hanwha Ocean (042660 KS) was the only sizable placement over the past week that we covered.

Pre-IPO CF PharmTech – The Outlook Is Bleak Due to VBP and Fierce Competition

Unlike most biotech companies in Hong Kong which focus on innovative drugs, CF PharmTech mainly produces generic drugs. Its revenue mainly comes from CF017, with high single product risk.
The pipelines have to face fierce competition and don’t have advantage in R&D progress in from of competing candidates. CF PharmTech is hard to generate decent profits due to VBP.
Since its establishment, CF PharmTech has raised its valuation step by step through multiple rounds of capital increase and equity transfer.Valuation was RMB4.021 billion in 2022, which is already high.

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May 04

Daily Brief ECM: CATL H Share Listing: AH Discount Views and more

In today’s briefing:

CATL H Share Listing: AH Discount Views

CATL H Share Listing: AH Discount Views