Chinese Provider of Mobile Charging Devices Energy Monster Debuts on Nasdaq as “EM”

Energy Monster, China’s largest provider of mobile charging devices, on Thursday officially listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “EM,” becoming the first Chinese shareable charging devices brand to participate in public trading.

The firm’s shares opened at $10 per American depositary share (ADS), higher than the initial public offering (IPO) price of $8.50 per ADS.

The prospectus showed that major investors of Energy Monster include Hillhouse Capital Group, Aspex Management (HK) Ltd. and Xiaomi Technology, which intend to subscribe for $110 million in total.

Energy Monster unveiled that 25% of the funds raised by the IPO will be used for more charging device points, while 20% will be used to retain and attract excellent talents. Furthermore, 35% will be used for capital expenditure and investment in device cabinets and mobile power supply, as well as for finding potential partners.

Energy Monster was established in Shanghai in May 2017. It’s founders included former employees of Meituan, Uber and Alibaba. Cai Guangyuan, founder and CEO of the company, previously served as the general manager and national marketing director of Uber in Shanghai.

By December 31, 2020, the firm’s shared charging network had amassed more than 664,000 individual points, attracting a total of 219 million users.

“Energy Monster is a very dynamic company,” said Xiao Yongqiang, executive director of Hillhouse Capital Group. “Its popularity has largely reduced the waste caused by leaving personal power banks unused. The sharing economy can effectively improve the utilization of resources, and reduce carbon emission in the whole society.”

According to the prospectus, the main revenue for Energy Monster in 2020 comes from its mobile device charging business, accounting for more than 96% of income. Since its inception, the firm has received six rounds of financing with the latest one led by Alibaba and CMC, completed at the beginning of this year and reaching more than $200 million.

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The firm has frequently been criticized for its singular business structure. In response, Energy Monster established a new liquor brand named Kaihuan (开欢), available for purchase both online and offline. The company even set up a special department responsible for the new venture.

Regarding the firm’s future development plan, Cai said the company would not give priority to one certain business model, but rather consider the needs of users and merchants.

As for the raised price of shared power banks, which has caused concern within the general public, Cai expressed that the company has not made a batch price increase. Their strategy is to adapt different prices to different scenarios and markets.

It is worth mentioning that on the same day Energy Monster went public, Jiedian (街电) and Soudian (搜电), another two providers of mobile charging devices, officially merged. The announcement means that the newly formed enterprise will enjoy more than 360 million users, three million orders at the peak time, and the biggest market share in the industry.