What’s New: BlueCity Holdings Ltd., the operator of China’s largest LGBTQ dating platform, skyrocketed as much as 124% in its trading debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange Wednesday. The stock finished its first day trading at $23.43, 46% higher than the $16 initial public offering price.
BlueCity, which owns online LGBTQ community Blued, sold 5.3 million American depositary shares to raise $89.8 million. The company’s market cap topped $880 million.
The company said proceeds from the offering will fund its business expansion, big data and artificial intelligence research, acquisition and investment.
More to know: Founded in 2011 by former policeman Baoli Ma, BlueCity counted Shunwei Capital, CDH Investments and Shanghai Zhonglu Group as major investors.
Besides providing dating services to its 49 million users, BlueCity’s app also offers livestreaming service, which has become the company's primary revenue source. Blued has users in more than 210 countries and regions, according to the prospectus.
BlueCity has yet to turn profitable, but its revenue grew 51.5% in 2019 to 759 million yuan ($108 million).
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com)
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