Report: Vancl Files US IPO Papers, On Course for December

E-commerce company Vancl looks all set to list in the US in December, as it has already filed its IPO papers with relevant authorities. Now that we have a concrete time-frame, the next step is to see the SEC filings in a couple of weeks’ time.

Vancl Group is looking to raise US$1 billion. Serial entrepreneur Lei Jun is among its founders, and Chen Nian (pictured below) is its CEO. They’ll be under the spotlight as they push through the biggest Chinese overseas IPO since new VIE regulations were implemented this autumn, which affects foreign ownership of Chinese firms’ assets. Plus, tighetening credit sources around the world make this pretty tough timing.

Vancl was founded in 2007. It’s reportedly aiming for sales of 10 billion RMB (US$1.58 billion) this year. The group actually comprises two B2C sites: its Vancl.com own-brand fashion label, and Vjia.com (also known as V+) which is its open platform that sells numerous well-known brands of clothing, make-up, and home accessories. It’s up against strong B2C competition from the likes of Alibaba’s Tmall and Tencent’s (HKG:0700) QQ Buy site.

Vancl CEO, Chen Nian. (Image source: QQ Tech news)

Earlier this week we looked at daily deals site Lashou.com and its own SEC filing – only for us to hear two days later that it might be cancelled. It seems Lashou’s is delayed for the time being, and will not list next week (on the 14th) as planned.

So, for Vancl, the journey is not so near to completion as it appears. Our next post about this upstart e-commerce site could either be its starting prices or its cancellation woes.

[Source: QQ Tech news – article in Chinese]