By Julie Zhu and Anousha Sakoui
HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) – Fast fashion retailer Shein is considering asking British regulators to abandon listing rules that require at least 10% of its shares to be sold to the public in its planned London initial public offering, two people said with knowledge of the matter. .
The company is exploring this option to facilitate its IPO, one of the people said.
If this is allowed, it would likely be the first time a London company has been allowed to list under the recent 10% rule.
Singapore-based Shein, which sells $10 tops and dresses made mainly in China, confidentially applied to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in June for a stock exchange listing in London.
However, the British financial regulator is taking longer than usual to approve his application, Reuters reported last week.
The people declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Shein declined to comment.
Shein was valued at $66 billion in a fundraising round last year. A 10% IPO at that valuation would make the IPO worth $6.6 billion. The largest European IPO this year was perfume and fashion company Puig’s $2.9 billion deal, according to Dealogic.
Shein’s current valuation and how much it plans to raise through the London stock exchange were not immediately known.
London changed its listing rules in 2021 to increase the attractiveness of the location for businesses. It reduced the proportion of shares an issuer must float from 25% to 10%, reducing potential barriers to large IPOs, the FCA said at the time.
In July, Britain ushered in the biggest overhaul of company listing rules in more than three decades to help the country compete more effectively with New York and the European Union for new issuers.
Shein started exploring a listing on the website London Stock Exchange (LON:) early this year, Reuters reported in May, citing sources. The Chinese-founded company’s original plan to go public in New York was derailed after opposition from U.S. lawmakers.
Shein is also waiting for China’s securities regulator to approve its plans for an initial public offering in London, Reuters previously reported. Revenues are expected to reach $50 billion this year, up 55% from 2023, according to Coresight Research.
