So-Young International, a Chinese online marketplace for plastic surgery services, has raised $179.4 million in its IPO in the US after selling 13 million American depositary shares (ADSs) at $13.80 apiece, according to its SEC filing.
The proceeds raised were at the high end of its original price range of $11.80-13.80 and could increase if the underwriters exercise their right to purchase an additional 1.95 million ADSs to cover over-allotments.
“Upon the completion of this offering, our directors, executive officers, and principal shareholders will continue to have substantial control over our company,” So-Young said.
The company’s directors, executive officers, and principal shareholders will be able to exercise 96.2 per cent of the total voting power of its issued and outstanding shares if the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, or 95.8 per cent if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full.
So-Young, which claims to be the most popular online destination for discovering, evaluating, and reserving medical aesthetic services in China, said the net proceeds of the offering will be used mainly for research and development, brand promotion and user acquisition efforts, business expansion, as well as other general corporate purposes.
Launched in November 2013, So-Young generates revenues primarily through information service fees and reservation fees charged to medical aesthetic service providers. Its revenues increased rapidly by 428.2 per cent from 49.1 million yuan ($7.3 million) in 2016 to 617.2 million yuan ($92 million) last year.
The company, which names Matrix Partners China, Trustbridge Partners, Tencent Holdings, and Orchid Asia among its principal shareholders, also booked a net income of 55.1 million yuan ($80 million) in 2018, compared to a net loss of 81 million yuan ($12 million) in 2016 and net income of 17.2 million yuan ($2.6 million) in 2017.
Prior to the IPO, the company had raised about $229 million in funding over six rounds. It raised $70 million in its Series E funding round led by Orchid Asia Group Management in September 2018. Matrix Partners China invested in the company in 2014 while Tencent Holdings led So-Young’s $50-million Series C in March 2016.
Last year, the company said it facilitated medical aesthetic treatment transactions worth a total of 2.1 billion yuan ($306.6 million) through its platform, accounting for 33.1 per cent of the total amount paid for medical aesthetic treatment booked online during the year.
It also claims over 240 million average monthly views of its rich media content distributed through social media networks and targeted media platforms in the fourth quarter of 2018.
According to a Frost and Sullivan study cited by So-Young, the medical aesthetic service industry in China is highly fragmented, competitive, but rapidly growing. In 2018, there were approximately 10,000 medical aesthetic service providers in the country, the report added.
The total revenues of the medical aesthetic services industry reached 121.7 billion yuan ($17.7 billion) in 2018, representing a CAGR of 23.6 per cent from 2014. The total revenues of this industry are expected to reach 360.1 billion yuan ($52.4 billion) by 2023, according to Frost and Sullivan.
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