AAA Alibaba-backed Baozun raises $110m in IPO

Alibaba-backed Baozun raises $110m in IPO

China-based e-commerce services provider Baozun went public in the US yesterday, raising $110m despite floating on Nasdaq below its $12 to $14 range.

Baozun, which is backed by e-commerce company Alibaba and telecommunications company SoftBank, issued 11 million shares priced at $10m each. If the underwriters take up an option to buy an additional 1.65 million shares, the size of the IPO would increase to $126.5m.

Baozun both sells goods produced by e-commerce companies and provides services spanning IT services, store operations, digital marketing, customer services, warehousing and fulfilment. It made a $9.6m loss in 2014, down from a $37.8m loss the year before, and recorded $255.6m in revenue.

The company plans to spend $25.8m of the proceeds on research and development for its technology infrastructure, with $23.3m to go to sales and marketing and $12.9m to expanding its warehousing and fulfilment infrastructure.

Alibaba remains Baozun’s largest shareholder despite its 23.5% stake being diluted to 18.2%. Tubasa Corp, a subsidiary of SoftBank, maintains a 13.7% share, while investment bank Goldman Sachs owns 7.6%.

Other notable shareholders post-IPO include Crescent Castle Holdings (17.9%), Jesvinco, which acts as an investment vehicle for Baozun CEO Vincent Wenbin Qiu (6.5%), and fund manager Infinity Group (5.1%).

The underwriters for the offering were Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse Securities and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith. Baozun’s stock closed at $10.46 after its first day of trading.

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