Canaan Creative, the Hangzhou-based crypto mining manufacturer, has revealed the details of its IPO, which it filed at the end of October. Canaan hopes to raise $100 million, which is 75% less than what it was seeking when it filed, and values the company at $1.5 billion. As well as the vastly reduced raise, the company’s lead underwriter, Credit Suisse, is no longer on board with the project, suggesting that all may not be well within Canaan towers.
Credit Suisse “Removed” as Lead Bookrunner
The new IPO represents Canaan’s third attempt to launch, following failed attempts in Hong Kong and China. This third filing, made in New York, would see it launch on the Nasdaq under the CAN symbol, although a summary of the IPO does not make attractive reading; according to IPO Renaissance, the $100 million raise is down from a planned $1.5 billion raise in 2018, and, although Citi, China Renaissance, and CMB International Capital are still joint bookrunners on the deal, Credit Suisse was “removed” as lead bookrunner, although no reasons are given as to why. Despite generating revenue of just over $134 million in the first three quarters of 2019, the company is still running at an overall loss of $31 million for the year.
Canaan Looking to Take Advantage of Bitmain Struggles
Canaan’s third filing has coincided with a turbulent time for market leader Bitmain, which Canaan may be hoping to profit from. A successful IPO would allow them to put more money into the company at a time when its larger rival is struggling with an identity crisis, both internally and externally, and very publicly. The Chinese Bitcoin mining industry has been looking up recently ever since president Xi Jinping publicly endorsed blockchain, since when Chinese state media has called Bitcoin the “first successful application of blockchain”, marking an incredible turnaround in sentiment, which has seen Bitcoin mining removed from the list of industries the government was seeking to phase out.
