Sunwoda Electric Vehicle Battery Seeking $580 Million Round Before China IPO, Sources Say

The electric-vehicle battery unit of Sunwoda Electronic Co. is considering raising as much as 4 billion yuan ($580 million) of fresh funds ahead of an initial public offering on Shanghai’s Star board market, according to people familiar with the matter.

(Bloomberg) — The electric-vehicle battery unit of Sunwoda Electronic Co. is considering raising as much as 4 billion yuan ($580 million) of fresh funds ahead of an initial public offering on Shanghai’s Star board market, according to people familiar with the matter.

Sunwoda Electric Vehicle Battery Co. could seek a valuation in the round exceeding 30 billion yuan, the people said. The Shenzhen-based firm is working with an adviser and has reached out to potential investors, the people said. It could file for the first-time share sale as soon as June, one of the people said.

Deliberations are ongoing and details such as valuation, fundraising size and IPO timeline could change, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. A representative for Sunwoda didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sunwoda Electronic shares have fallen nearly 40% in the last 12 months. They were little changed on Thursday in Shenzhen, giving the company a market value of $5.9 billion.

Founded in 2008, 11 years after its parent’s creation, Sunwoda’s EV battery unit supplies products to automakers including Volvo Car AB, XPeng Inc. and Dongfeng Motor Group Co., its website shows. Sunwoda EVB raised 6 billion yuan from funds including an investment arm of Meituan, Broad Vision Funds and Shenzhen Capital Group Co. in August, according to a press release by financial adviser Fanzhuo Capital. 

Sunwoda Electronic raised $440 million in a global depositary receipt sale in November. 

EV battery manufacturers in China are attracting billions of dollars as automakers are looking to diversify their supply. Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.-backed Zeekr Intelligent Technology Ltd. raised $750 million earlier this month from investors including Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. and Chinese local government-backed funds ahead of a potential listing in the US. REPT Battero Energy Co. is weighing a $1 billion Hong Kong IPO this year, potentially becoming the city’s biggest IPO since EV battery maker CALB Co.’s $1.3 billion listing in October, Bloomberg News reported.

–With assistance from Danny Lee.

(Updates with Sunwoda Electronic shares in fourth paragraph.)

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