Mogu, the China-based owner of fashion e-commerce platform Mogujie, filed for a $200m initial public offering on Friday that will enable corporates Tencent, Ping An and Bertelsmann to exit.
Launched in 2011, Mogujie is an online platform that sells fashion items as well as providing curated fashion-themed content for users with embedded links that enable them to buy the featured clothing.
The platform had an average of 62.6 million monthly active users in the year running up to September 2018, and Mogu plans to use the proceeds from the offering to expand its range of content and strengthen its technology.
Mogu has raised at least $540m in venture funding and was reportedly valued at $3bn when it merged with online fashion marketplace Meilishuo at the start of 2016. It made a net loss of $44.2m from $71.3m in revenue in the six months ending September 2018 according to the filing.
Internet group Tencent has been a shareholder in Mogu since February 2016 when it provided $100m according to the IPO filing, subsequently acquiring additional shares when it formed a business cooperation agreement with the company in July 2018. GGV Capital and Magic Stone invested a further $30m in Mogu later in 2016.
Sequoia Capital led a $20m round for Mogu in 2011 that included IDG Capital, then an affiliate of IT media company International Data Group, as well as GGV Capital, BlueRun Ventures and Zero2IPO Ventures.
Media group Bertelsmann’s Asia Investments (BAI) vehicle invested $20m in Mogu the following year, before the company added $200m from IDG Capital, Magnolia Fund, Hopu Fund, Qiming Venture Partners, TrustBridge Capital and Banyan Fund in 2014 at a $1bn valuation.
Ping An Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of insurance firm Ping An, led a $200m round for Mogu in 2015, investing alongside Tiantu Capital.
Tencent is Mogu’s largest shareholder, with an 18% stake, followed by co-founder and chairman Qi Chen (11.9%), Hillhouse (10.2%), BAI and TrustBridge (8.2% each), Ping An and Qiming (6.3% each) and Sequoia (4.6%).
Morgan Stanley International, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) and China Renaissance Securities have been appointed underwriters for the offering, which is set to take place on the New York Stock Exchange.
