FAST NEWS: NaaS Technology Announces Fundraising Plan as Backdoor Merger Nears Completion

The Latest: NaaS Technology Inc. (NaaS), operator of China’s largest independent electric vehicle (EV) charging network, said on Monday it plans to raise money through its ongoing backdoor listing on the Nasdaq.

Looking Up: The company’s revenue nearly tripled last year to 92.8 million yuan ($13.4 million) from 33.5 million yuan in 2021, according to its prospectus. Its number of charging stations reached 55,000 by the end of March, up from 50,000 three months earlier and 30,000 at the end of 2021.

Take Note: The company’s net loss ballooned to 5.6 billion yuan last year from a 260 million loss in 2021.

Digging Deeper: NaaS Technology is taking over the listed shell that was formerly Rise Education, which made a Nasdaq IPO in 2017. Rise became a victim of China’s education crackdown two years ago, which banned private companies from offering after-school tutoring services for K-12 students. NaaS announced its intent to list in New York last year using Rise Education’s shell as its listing vehicle, in a deal engineered by U.S. private equity giant Bain, which is a major investor in both companies. NaaS Technology’s latest filing indicates it plans to raise funds by issuing new shares, though it didn’t disclose a specific fundraising target.

Market Reaction: NaaS shares fell 13.8% the day the prospectus was released, but gained some of that back the next day in Tuesday trade. The stock has doubled since late March as the deal comes closer to completion.

To subscribe to Bamboo Works weekly free newsletter, click here

Reporting by Doug Young