Bitcoin Mining Giant Bitmain Just Officially Filed for Its IPO

Bitmain, the Beijing-based bitcoin mining giant, has officially filed an application in its bid to go public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX).

Published this week, Bitmain's long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) prospectus follows various news reports that the mining giant has been mulling a Hong Kong listing and weighing a multi-billion dollar public fundraising.

As the application is still in draft form and pending further listing hearings from the HKEX, it remains unclear how much the firm will be valued at eventually. As shown in the posted application, a number of details remain redacted, including the numbers of shares that will be offered and the timetable for the public offering.

Still, the prospectus gives notable insight into Bitmain's financial standing as well as details about the company's structure and inner workings.

Based on the application, the firm made a total of $2,517,719,000 in revenue just in 2017, representing a significant increase from the $277,612,000 in revenue it generated over the course of 2016. As of June 30, according to the prospectus, Bitmain has made $2,845,467,000 in revenue.

Further, Bitmain brought home a gross profit of $1,212,750,000 last year, according to the prospectus, again signaling a major increase from $151,351,000 over the previous year. Before taxes, Bitmain brought in $137,750,000 in 2016, $897,376,000 in 2017 and $907,792,000 for the first half of 2018.

CoinDesk previously reported that Bitmain's profits over the past years surged significantly year-on-year, which jumped from $100 million in 2016 to $1.1 billion in 2017, and another $1.1 billion just in 2018 Q1, based on documents obtained by CoinDesk.

Underwriter, acquisition details

Beyond the revenue figures, Bitmain's prospectus also includes a range of information about both the company itself as well as the IPO process.

The prospectus highlights the underwriters of the IPO deal. The document lists them as China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Limited, Commerce and Finance Law Offices, Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP, KPMG, and Frost & Sullivan.

"As of the Latest Practicable Date, none of the experts named above has any shareholding in any member of our Group or the right (whether legally enfroceable[sic] or not) to subscribe for, or to nominate persons to subscribe for securites[sic], in any member of our Group," the prospectus adds.

Information about the companies that Bitmain has invested in was also featured in the prospectus. The company owns a 3 percent stake in Opera, having invested $50 million in the firm Opera Limited.

This story is still being updated. 

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