STO Express, China’s leading delivery firm, has expedited its process of going public by planning to close a backdoor listing deal with Zhejiang IDC Company at USD 2.6 billion (RMB 16.9 billion), Reuters reported.
Zhejiang IDC Fluid Control Co. Ltd. announced on Dec. 1 that it would sell all of its debt and assets to acquire STO Express. After this major asset restructuring, Chen Dejun, Chairman of STO Express and his sister Chen Xiaoying will become the actual controlling shareholders.
Founded in 1993, STO Express is headquartered in Shanghai. It now has more than 200,000 employees spread over 1,370 branches throughout the country. It witnessed a 50% increase in express delivery services last year, with 2.4 billion packages sent, accounting for 17% of the total express delivery market.
If this works, STO Express will become China’s first major express parcel service to be publicly listed.