China-based bicycle sharing company Youon Bike raised $87m in an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange today that provided an exit to financial services provider Ant Financial.
The company’s shares were priced at RMB26.85 (aproximately $4.00) each, and rose as high as RMB38.66 on its first day of trading. The flotation marks the first time a China-based on-demand bicycle service provider has gone public.
Founded in 2010, Youon began life as an operator of government-funded bicycle rental offerings in small cities and towns across China. The company expanded into the dockless bike sharing sector in 2016, following the example of rivals such as Mobike and Ofo.
Youon had deployed some 50,000 dockless sharing bikes as of the end of 2016, though it remains a relatively minor part of its overall business, which is dominated by its traditional 32,000 bike stations and 890,000 bicycles.
Proceeds from the flotation will be allocated to boost R&D activities, increase the company’s bike network and pay off loans.
Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate of e-commerce group Alibaba, invested an undisclosed sum in Youon in February 2017 alongside IDG Capital and Shenzhen Capital. The three were set to inject more capital the following month, but the deal did not close.
Shanghai Yunxin, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ant Financial, provided RMB100m in funding for Youon in 2014, following a RMB50m funding round featuring Shenzhen Capital earlier the same year.