Chinese toy maker Bloks Group files for up to $188 mln Hong Kong IPO (updated)

Mao Geping Cosmetics

30/12/2024 23:04

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      Bloks will be selling 24.1 mln shares
    

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      Listing amid revival in HK IPO market
    

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      Bloks H1 revenue more than tripled from last year
    

  
 (Updates with company details in paragraphs 4, 5 and 8, HK IPO
market in paragraphs 6 and 7 and analyst comment in paragraphs 9
and 10)
    By Rishav Chatterjee
       Dec 31 (Reuters) - Bloks Group is looking to raise as
much as HK$1.46 billion ($188.01 million) in a Hong Kong initial
public offering, as the Chinese toy maker aims to ramp up
product development and output while cashing in on the reviving
IPO market. 
    Bloks will be selling a total of 24.1 million shares, priced
between HK$55.65 and HK$60.35 each, according to a regulatory
filing made on Tuesday.
    The deal will raise between HK$1.34 billion and HK$1.46
billion, and the shares sold will represent 10% of the company's
total shares, the filings showed.
    Shanghai-based Bloks, which assembles the Ultraman and
Transformer toys, will use the proceeds from the IPO to complete
its self-operated factory in 2026 and hire 400 additional
employees.
    Bloks is China's largest player in the assembly character
toy segment, according to a report it commissioned to
consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan.
    The listing plans come while there look to be green shoots
of recovery in the Hong Kong IPO market following an extended
downturn period over the last few years.
    Local cosmetics firm Mao Geping  1318.HK  recently raised
$300 million in its oversubscribed Hong Kong IPO, while courier
group S.F. Holding  002352.SZ   6936.HK  raised $749.3 million. 
    Bloks reported a first-half loss of 254.9 million yuan
($34.92 million) while posting 1.05 billion yuan in revenue,
more than triple from a year ago.
    Xinyao (Criss) Wang, an analyst at Smartkarma, said the
latest pre-IPO valuation for Bloks has reached 7.2 billion yuan
but should be lower than global toy designer Pop Mart.
    "Bloks' business model is more similar to Pop Mart, rather
than LEGO, but Bloks' profitability is lagging behind both of
them," added Wang and also flagged that Bloks' current high
revenue growth may not be sustainable. 
    LEGO is a privately-held Danish toy company. 
    Goldman Sachs and Huatai International are joint bookrunners
on the offering.



($1 = 7.7657 Hong Kong dollars)

($1 = 7.2993 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan
Barona)
 ((Rishav.Chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com))