PE-backed J&T Express raises $499m in Hong Kong IPO
J&T Global Express, an express delivery business that launched in Indonesia and expanded region-wide, traded flat on debut following a HKD 3.9bn (USD 499m) Hong Kong IPO.
The company – which raised nearly USD 5.4bn from investors between 2017 and 2023 – sold 326.5m shares for HKD 12.00 apiece, according to a filing. Nearly 40% of the offering was covered by nine cornerstone investors. The overallotment option could add HKD 567.2m to the offering.
The stock reached as high as HKD 12.20 on October 27 before closing at HKD 12.00. This gave J&T Global a market capitalisation of approximately HKD 11.75bn.
Tencent is J&T Global’s largest external investor with a 6.08% post-IPO stake. Other backers include Boyu Capital (5.88%), ATM Capital (5.29%), D1 Capital Partners (2.99%), Hillhouse (1.93%), GLP, which controls Hidden Hill (1.92%), Sequoia (1.56%), and Temasek (0.74%). SIG Asia Investment (0.52%). Each one also participated in the cornerstone commitment.
Jet Jie Li, J&T Global’s chairman and CEO, owns 11.11% and retains majority voting power by virtue of the dual share class structure. Li was previously Indonesia CEO of Chinese mobile phone brand Oppo. He launched the company in 2015 with Tony Chen, Oppo’s founder.
J&T Global received USD 103.4m in a first tranche of pre-Series A funding in 2017 at a valuation of USD 433m, according to a prospectus. A second tranche of USD 80m closed the following year. The Series A and B rounds took place in 2020, generating proceeds of USD 1.19bn and 100m, and then there was a Series B extension of USD 1.82bn – at a USD 6bn valuation – in 2021.
By the time of the first Series C tranche later in 2021, which amounted to USD 2.1bn, J&T Global’s valuation had risen to USD 18bn. A second Series C tranche and a Series D round took place concurrently in May 2023, with USD 1.8bn added to the coffers. The Seres D valuation was approximately USD 13bn.
The prospectus doesn’t identify the investors in each round. AVCJ Research has records of the Series B extension and the first Series C tranche. Boyu, Hillhouse, and Sequoia led the former and re-upped in the latter, where they were joined by Temasek, Hidden Hill, and SIG Asia.
J&T Global claims to be the leading express delivery business in Southeast Asia, with a footprint extending into China, Latin America, and the Middle East. It accounted for 22.5% of Southeast Asia’s express parcel volume in 2022, according to Frost & Sullivan. It handled 2.51bn domestic parcels, up from 1.14bn in 2020.
The company entered China in 2020 and acquired the domestic express business of logistics operator Best Inc – which received substantial backing from PE investors ahead of a US IPO in 2017 – for CNY 6.8bn (USD 1.1bn) in 2021. J&T Global handled 12bn parcels in China last year, for a 10.9% market share.
As of June, the company had full network coverage across the seven major Southeast Asia countries and a geographic coverage of over 99% by counties and districts in China. It claims to be the first Asian express delivery operator of scale to have expanded into Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mexico, Brazil, and Egypt.
J&T Global provides a suite of express delivery services to merchants and consumers on leading e-commerce platforms, including Shopee, Lazada, Tokopedia, Pinduoduo, Taobao, Tmall, Shein, and Noon, as well as short video and live streaming platforms that offer social commerce services, such as TikTok, Douyin and Kuaishou.
The company generated revenue of USD 7.3bn in 2022, up from USD 4.8bn a year earlier. China was responsible for 56% of revenue, with Southeast Asia contributing 33%. However, Southeast Asia was profitable in terms of adjusted EBITDA with USD 331.6m; China delivered a loss of USD 722.6m.
J&T Global swung from a net loss of USD 6.19bn in 2021 to a net profit of USD 1.57bn in 2022, largely due to changes in the fair value of outstanding convertible preferred shares.
More on Southeast Asia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.