WeLab, a China-based peer-to-peer lending marketplace backed by corporates including e-commerce group Alibaba and conglomerate Nan Fung, has filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong.
Although the company, which has raised about $425m in funding altogether, has not set a target for the offering, reports in November 2017 stated that it was looking at raising about $500m. Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan are the joint sponsors of the IPO.
WeLab operates mobile-focused online lending platform Wolaidai as well as a Hong Kong counterpart known as WeLend. The platforms facilitated a total of more than $1.2bn in personal loans and $300m in business loans over the course of 2017.
The company recorded a $17.7m net profit in 2017, up from a $24.8m net loss the year before, while increasing revenue from $30.3m to $155m.
Media company Tom Group joined Sequoia Capital, DST Global and Iconiq Capital to provide $20m for WeLab in a series A round that closed in 2015.
Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional subsequently led a $160m series B round for WeLab in early 2016 that also featured financial services firm ING Bank and Chinese state-owned investment firm Guangdong Technology Financial Group (GTF).
WeLab’s last funding was a $220m series B-plus round in November 2017 led by Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund that included financial services firms Credit Suisse and China Construction Bank (CCB) and multilateral development institution International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Nan Fung and e-commerce company Ule are also investors in WeLab, according to its website. Tom Group owns 6.8% of the company according to the filing, Ule 5.9%, ING 1.8%, and Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund and software provider Voyager Labs 0.4% each.
The company’s largest investors also include Khazanah Nasional (12.4%) Sequoia Capital China (2.9%), GTF’s STF International Asset Management fund (2.2%), IFC (1.4%), Lakestar and Apoletto (0.9% each).