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Rising China robotics star AgiBot restructures in potential bid to join IPO race
Shanghai-based firm’s move comes as a wave of Chinese humanoid robot makers – including Unitree and Leju – gear up for public listings
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Iris Dengin Shenzhen
Chinese robotics firm AgiBot has rejigged its corporate structure, a move seen as laying the groundwork for an initial public offering (IPO), amid a wave of domestic humanoid robot makers racing to list their shares.
The Shanghai-based company restructured from a limited liability company to a joint stock limited company last week and was renamed Zhiyuan Innovation (Shanghai) Technology, according to records shown on Chinese business registry platform Tianyancha. The legal shift is an essential step for firms preparing to go public.
The move was a “normal name change”, a company spokesman said on Monday, declining to make further comment.
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AgiBot was reportedly planning to launch an IPO in Hong Kong next year, targeting a valuation of HK$40 billion (US$5.14 billion) to HK$50 billion, according to a Reuters report in October that cited anonymous sources. The company declined to comment on the report.
The restructuring comes as a crop of Chinese humanoid robot makers – including Unitree Robotics and Leju Robotics – gear up for public listings. The industry is looking to commercialise humanoid machines after making global headlines for their technological capabilities.
Hangzhou-based Unitree, hailed as the poster child of China’s booming robotics industry, filed pre-IPO documents with China’s securities regulator in July. The firm said in September that it would file documents to an onshore stock exchange in mainland China between October and December this year, the Post reported.
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