Meitu, a China-based selfie retouching app developer backed by corporates including social media platform Sina Weibo, has priced its initial public offering at HK$8.50 ($1.10), Reuters reported today.
The company will float 574 million shares at the bottom of its range that had been set at HK$8.50 to HK$9.60. The pricing puts the IPO at $629m, down from last month’s target of $800m and lower than its goal of $1bn revealed in August 2016.
Meitu, which hopes to list on the stock exchange next week, has not yet officially confirmed the pricing.
Established in 2008, Meitu has created an app that enables users to modify photos and post them online. The company claimed 446 million users as of the end of June 2016 but has struggled to monetise the platform, taking a $40.5m loss for the first half of this year.
The company has reportedly obtained approximately $500m in total funding, though details about several equity rounds have not been revealed. Meitu raised a combined $360m in its series A through C rounds, the latter of which closed in 2014 at a $2bn valuation.
Meitu’s shareholders include Sina Weibo and IDG Capital Partners, the China-based investment affiliate of technology research company International Data Group. Contract manufacturer Foxconn made a strategic investment in May 2015.
Remaining backers include Innovation Works, Qiming Venture Partners and Tiger Global Management.
China Merchants Securities, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley are acting as underwriters for the IPO, while AMTD, CCB International, CMB International, GF Securities and UBS are serving as bookrunners.