Full Truck Alliance (FTA), an Uber-like trucking startup, raised $1.6 billion in the initial public offering on Tuesday, making it the largest Chinese company listed in the US this year.
Details: The company sold 82.5 million shares at the highest market price of $17 to $19 in the IPO, raising $1.6 billion. The stock price closed at $21.50 after rising 20% on Tuesday, giving the Chinese company a market value of approximately $23.6 billion.
FTA will also raise a total of $200 million from Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board by selling Class A ordinary shares.
The company said that the funds will be used for technology, service and business model innovations.
Popularly called Manbang in its home market, FTA runs a mobile app that connects truck drivers to people that need to ship items within China.
The company, which counts high-profile investors including SoftBank and Tencent, was formed in 2017 out of a merger between Chinese digital freight platforms Yunmanman and Huochebang. It is led by Peter Zhang, a former executive of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Context: On-demand logistics service in China is crowded, with Manbang, Huolala and Kuaigou as market leaders. Didi Chuxing is also offering a logistics service.
The company claimed it has over 10 million registered truck drivers and more than 5 million truck owners on its platform.