Benzinga | Jun 23, 2021 12:00PM EDT

Hong Kong's Logistics Firm Lalamove Files Privately For $1B US IPO

* Hong Kong's on-demand logistics and delivery firm, Lalamove, or Huolala, has filed confidentially for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) to raise a minimum of $1 billion to tap the pandemic induced e-commerce demand surge, Bloomberg reports.

* Recently, Chinese trucking startup Full Truck Alliance Co Ltd (NYSE: YMM) raised $1.6 billion in its U.S. IPO and climbed 13% in its debut. E-commerce giant JD.com Inc's (NASDAQ: JD) shipping and delivery unit JD Logistics Inc. went public in Hong Kong in May in a $3.6 billion share sale.

* Lalamove provides van-hailing and courier services on demand. It operates in over 20 markets across Asia, Latin America, and the U.S. with a pool of over 700,000 driver-partners.

* Lalamove raised $515 million in 2020 from investors, including Sequoia Capital China, Hillhouse Capital, and Shunwei Capital. It had been seeking a valuation of $8 billion at the time.