Prime Highlights
- Unitree is expected to be valued at more than 50 billion yuan after its Shanghai IPO.
- The company plans to raise 4.2 billion yuan to expand robotics research and production.
Key Facts
- Unitree Technology is a Chinese robotics company that develops humanoid and quadruped robots.
- The company competes with global robotics makers including Tesla and Boston Dynamics.
Background
Chinese robotics company Unitree Technology is expected to achieve a valuation of more than 50 billion yuan ($7.4 billion) following its planned initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. A valuation report by Citic Securities, the IPO sponsor, estimates the company will be worth between 50.6 billion yuan and 55.9 billion yuan within six to 12 months after its expected listing later this month.
The Hangzhou-based company plans to raise 4.2 billion yuan through the IPO to expand research, innovation and production capacity. Unitree develops humanoid and quadruped robots and competes with global robotics companies such as Tesla and Boston Dynamics.
According to Citic Securities, the company is expected to trade at about 20 times its projected sales for this year and around 80 times its forecast earnings. The report described Unitree as a leading global manufacturer of high-performance, general-purpose robots with a strong focus on research and development and embodied intelligence technologies.
The listing comes as China continues to invest heavily in robotics, a sector considered important to the country’s long-term technology strategy and its competition with the United States.
At the same time, Unitree faces increasing regulatory pressure from Washington. The United States recently added advanced foreign-made robots to its Covered List, making it more difficult for affected companies to obtain equipment authorisation needed for sales in the US market.
In June, US authorities also included Unitree and several other Chinese technology companies on a list of firms they believe support China’s military. Unitree is scheduled to determine its IPO price this week before opening the share sale to investors.
