Libode New Material Co Ltd, a Chinese manufacturer of lithium-ion battery cathode materials, has raised 2.578 billion yuan ($375.2 million) in a Series B round of financing, as the firm looks to speed up its initial public offering (IPO) plan.
Located in Yibin City in southeastern China, Libode said in a statement that it secured the new financing from China’s domestic investment institutions and strategic investors involved in the provision of lithium-ion battery materials, electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and EVs.
CICC Capital, the flagship private equity (PE) platform of China International Capital Corp Ltd (CICC), participated in the deal through an affiliated fund. Both the municipal state investor in Yibin City and its provincial counterpart invested in the Series B round, said Libode.
Chinese state-owned automaker GAC Group’s GAC Capital; China Capital Management, a wholly-owned investment unit of investment bank CSC Financial; Leaguer Capital; and CD Capital also invested in the round.
The addition of new investors “has put Libode in a more favourable position in its development and integration of industry resources,” said the firm. “It will help the firm lay a good foundation for its future independent listing.”
Libode said that it has already formulated an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) for the management team. But it did not disclose more detailed information about the planned IPO, such as the targeted listing location, IPO size, and timeframe.
Founded in July 2017, Libode offers lithium-ion battery cathode materials to EVs and other 3C (computers, communications, and consumer electronics) products.
It currently has an annual capacity of producing 30,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery cathode materials. The firm is looking to scale its annual production to 70,000 tonnes per year in 2023, before reaching 150,000 tonnes by 2025, according to its official website.