Deppon to go public in Shanghai via IPO

Deppon Logistics Co Ltd will become the first logistics company to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange through an initial public offering.

"(The company) has received a notice of approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission," a source close to the company told the 21 Century Business Herald on Tuesday.

"The official approval is expected to come as early as mid-December if everything goes smoothly in Deppon," according to the news outlet citing another source.

The company plans to issue no more than 150 million shares to raise 2.98 billion yuan ($451 million), with 1.71 billion yuan planned for the purchase of the less-than-truckload-shipping carriers, which transport relatively small?freight, according to its prospectus.

The rest of proceeds will be invested in direct network, express delivery vehicles and information platform.

The prospectus said Deppon's revenue increased from 10.49 billion yuan to 17 billion yuan from 2014 to 2016, with a compound growth rate of 27.29 percent. Its net profit dropped from 471.55 million yuan to 379.94 million yuan, with a compound growth rate of -10.24 percent.

Deppon's possible listing came after China's major logistics companies including SF Express, STO Express and YTO?Express have already gone public via reverse mergers with shell companies, and ZTO Express sought a successful debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

Deppon submitted the filing for an IPO on June 23, 2015 for the first time and was accepted on July 3 the same year. Its road to listing paused as the CSRC announced the next day to suspend IPO approvals amid a time of market turbulence.