VC-backed Appier files for Japan IPO
Appier, a Taiwan-based advertising technology provider, has filed for a JPY26.4 billion ($250 million) Japan IPO. It sets up exits for several VC investors, including Sequoia Capital.
Appier will offer about 18.8 million shares, including 8.8 million from existing investors, at JPY1,400 apiece based on an indicative price confirmed in a regulatory filing. Final pricing will be fixed one week ahead of listing on March 30.
SoftBank and UOB Venture Management plan to make the biggest divestments, selling 2.2 million and 1.8 million shares, respectively. Exiting investors also include Jafco Asia, which participated in an $80 million Series D round in 2019 alongside TGVest Capital, Temasek Holdings-owned Pavilion Capital, Insignia Venture Partners, UMC Capital, and a fund controlled by Hopu Investments and Arm Holdings.
Sequoia plans to sell 907,700 shares from its fourth India fund. It became one of Appier’s first institutional investors in 2014, when Sequoia Capital China provided $6 million in seed funding. Appier has received about $160 million from private investors. Qualgro Partners, WI Haper Group, EDBI, TransLink Capital, FirstFloor Capital, MediaTek Ventures, AMTD Group, Line, and Naver are among its other backers.
Appier has developed several artificial intelligence-enabled platforms that offer data analytics services to corporate clients, allowing them to optimize advertising campaigns for brands and analyze what users will do on different smart device screens at different times of day. In 2019, it acquired Japan’s Emin, a specialist in augmented marketing and customer targeting.
Operations now encompass 15 offices in 13 markets in Asia and Europe with more than 400 employees. Revenue came to JPY7.2 billion in 2019, up from JPY6.3 billion the previous year. Over the same period, the company's net loss widened from JPY1.9 billion to JPY2.3 billion.
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