Weimob, the China-based commerce and marketing services provider backed by aviation group HNA and packaged food producer Jinzi Ham, has filed for an initial public offering of undisclosed size in Hong Kong.
Founded in 2013, Weimob has created a customer relationship management platform that allows businesses to communicate with and market to their customers through social media channels such as messaging apps WeChat and QQ.
The company near tripled its revenue to RMB534m ($77.6m at current exchange rates) in 2017 while converting an RMB80.9m loss in 2016 to a RMB2.6m profit. It plans to use the IPO proceeds for strategic investments, buying advertising traffic, and sales and marketing.
Private equity firm Meridian Capital invested approximately $4.8m in the company in 2013 before returning for a $24.2m series B round in 2015 that was led by a $20.3m investment by Jinzi. HNA led Weimob’s $79m series C round in 2015.
The company added $160m from investors including internet group Tencent, Shanghai Free Trade Zone Equity Fund, V-Capital, Shanghai Guohe Capital, Zhejiang Paradise Silicon Valley Asset Management Group in April 2018, according to China Money Network.
WeChat owner Tencent is also an investor in Weimob according to the IPO filing, which states that it paid RMB1.3m for a 3% stake in 2015 as part of a strategic collaboration agreement. The filing does not disclose the size of the stakes held by any of its investors.