China’s Fujian Frozen Goods Online Network Technology Co., Ltd (FG Online), a Chinese B2B online frozen food distributor, is mulling going public through a merger with a US-based Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC).
Established in 2015, FG Online specialises in providing frozen food, pre-made food and supply chain services to small and medium-sized restaurants, community convenience stores, farmers’ markets and other small food business owners. It now covers more than 10 cities in China, with approximately 1,000 upstream suppliers and 400,000+ downstream restaurants and food business owners, serving nearly 100 million consumers per month.
FG Online is also actively expanding into other business verticals. For example, EasyFresh Cold Chain Logistics Co., Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of FG Online, is a cold chain warehousing and storage management and logistics operator that provides 3rd party warehousing and distribution services for food and grocery delivery companies. Some of its notable customers include Meituan, Alibaba, Mengniu Diary and Yili Group amongst others.
FG Online has received 5 founds of financing from many well-known institutional investors in China and it successfully raised US$17 million in its latest round of financing. The Company plans to build more cold chain infrastructures and strengthen its supply chain operation to achieve nationwide market penetration.
SPAC is a special financial instrument in the US capital market, commonly known as ‘Blank-Check Companies’. SPAC is essentially a listed private equity fund, and throughout 2021, over 600 SPAC IPOs have been completed.
Some well-known SPAC mergers include the fast-food brand ‘Burger King’ and private aerospace company ‘Virgin Galactic. Most SPACs will get listed on either Nasdaq or NYSE. FG Online is expected to be listed on NASDAQ in 1st quarter 2023 at a valuation close to US$1 billion.
