Babytree Group plans $1bn Hong Kong initial public offering

The China-based online parenting company, Babytree Group, is planning to raise up to $1bn in a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), Reuters reports.

Babytree, who is backed by global e-commerce firm Alibaba Group, is hoping to raise between $800mn to $1bn from the IPO.

The company, who is also supported by Shanghai-based conglomerate Fosun International, is aiming to gain approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange’s listing committee by the end of September, according to Reuters’ sources.

The potential IPO is the latest in a busy Hong Kong calendar which is set to include a $4bn deal by Meituan Dianping, a online food delivery-to-ticketing services platform, in addition to a $1bn listing of Haidilao.

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Towards the end of June, Babytree announced it was China’s biggest maternity and child-focused online community boasting on average 139mn monthly active users in 2017.

Having been first established in 2007, Babytree has rolled out other services such as its Babytree parenting mobile app as well as its Meitun Mama.

As of the end of 2017, it is thought that Babytree has connected 338 advertising clients and 2,253 third-party e-commerce vendors.