WeDoctor, backed by Chinese tech giant Tencent, is planning to file for an initial public offering by the end of April and aiming to go public in the second half of this year, as per a report by Bloomberg.
The firm is preparing to go public in either the US or Hong Kong, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private details. The plans are preliminary and could change, and no final decision has been made about the IPO’s size, the report added.
In July last year, DealStreetAsia reported that WeDoctor raised approximately $150 million from an undisclosed state-owned industry investment fund in eastern China’s Shandong Province. The capital raise followed a significant round of layoffs in March the same year.
Founded in 2010, the Hangzhou-based startup provides a range of online solutions, aiming to transform China’s healthcare market, including insurance policies, medical supplies, online appointment booking, and clinics.
Some of WeDoctor’s other backers include AMTD Group, AIA Group, Hermitage Capital, Millennium Management, and Sequoia Capital China.
WeDoctor filed for an IPO in Hong Kong in April 2021 until its application became void. After that, it also weighed options of going public through a potential merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
China’s sweeping crackdown on the nation’s private sector has disrupted similar offerings along with the downtrend in the global IPO market last year and the general decline of the public equity markets.