Beijing Happy Times Technology Development, the China-based operator of e-commerce platform Qufenqi, is planning an initial public offering that will allow corporates Kunlun Tech and Ant Financial to exit, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
The IPO will take place in the US and is set to raise between $500m and $800m, people familiar with the matter told the WSJ.
Originally focusing on students when it launched in early 2014, Qufenqi is an online consumer goods marketplace that allows users to pay for items such as electronics through instalments. It has 25 million registered users and has branched out into student loans.
A regulatory filing in July this year stated Happy Times had made a RMB158m ($23.7m) net profit in the first seven months of 2016 from RMB478m in revenue.
The company secured $449m in a July 2016 series F round, according to FintekNews, and Reuters reported that gaming and internet group Kunlun Tech provided $27m as part of the round.
Hangzhou Liaison Interactive Information Technology, Fenghuang Xiangrui Internet Fund and Phoenix Fortune Holdings also participated in the series F round.
Happy Times had previously raised more than $425m, with Kunlun first investing as part of a $100m round in April 2015 that included existing backer Source Code Capital. It came after Source Code, BlueRun Ventures and Golden Summit had provided the company’s earlier funding.
Online payment services provider Ant Financial subsequently led a $200m series D round in August 2015 that was also backed by Source Code and BlueRun Ventures.