SUPER Hi International, which operates the Chinese hotpot restaurant chain Haidilao outside China, said on Monday (May 13) it was targeting a valuation of US$1.38 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) in the United States.
The company, which has shares listed in Hong Kong, is pursuing a dual listing in New York as it seeks to broaden its shareholder base and raise additional capital.
Super Hi is looking to raise about US$57.5 million by offering nearly 2.7 million American Depositary Shares at US$21.35 apiece. The company will primarily use the IPO proceeds to expand its restaurant network globally.
Singapore-based Super Hi’s 2023 revenue stood at US$686.4 million compared with US$558.2 million a year earlier, the company said. Net profit in the same period was US$25.3 million versus a loss of US$41.3 million in 2022.
The company, which mainly operates in South-east Asia and North America, clocked same-store sales growth of 8.8 per cent in 2023.
Super Hi, which commenced its restaurant business operations outside Greater China in 2012 through its then-parent company Haidilao International, was spun off and listed as a public company in Hong Kong at the end of 2022.
GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Since opening its first restaurant in Singapore in 2012, the Chinese cuisine restaurant brand has expanded to 115 self-operated restaurants in 12 countries across four continents at the end of 2023.
The company’s major shareholders include Yong Zhang, the billionaire founder of Chinese hotpot chain Haidilao and his spouse Ping Shu, the chairman of Super Hi. They own more than 50 per cent of the shares in the firm.
Haidilao, which started in a small town in Sichuan in 1994, has become one of the most popular Chinese cuisine brands in the world.
Super Hi International plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol “HDL”.
Morgan Stanley and Huatai Securities are the underwriters for the offering. REUTERS
