Efort Intelligent Equipment, a China-based industrial robot producer backed by corporates Chery and Midea, has filed to raise up to RMB828m ($118m) in an initial public offering, DealStreetAsia reported yesterday.
The company intends to float on Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Star Market and will issue up to 130.5 million shares priced at RMB6.35 each. Guosen Securities is the main underwriter for the offering while CICC is the joint sponsor.
Founded in 2007 and spun off from carmaker Chery, Efort produces robotics technology for use in the automotive industry and plans to use the IPO proceeds to strengthen research and development with regards to next-generation robotics and cloud computing software.
Although not all the details of its venture funding are available, Efort raised an undisclosed sum from investment manager Wuhu Yuanda Chuangtou in 2012.
Electrical appliance manufacturer Midea reportedly provided an undisclosed amount of series B funding for the company in 2016 and at one point owned almost 20% of its shares. Midea’s share of Efort is set to be sized at 6.8% once the offering closes, while Chery will come out with a 1.05% stake.
An entity known as Wuhu Yuanhong is Efort’s largest investor, with a stake to be sized at 16.1% post-IPO, followed by private equity firm Co-Stone Capital (14.9%), Yuanda Chuangtou (11.7%), asset manager CDH Investments (9.7%) and investment manager Phinda Holding (3.8%). Shenzhen Capital Group is also among its backers.
