Crypto miner Canaan falls short of $400M target in US IPO

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Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer Canaan Creative has completed its listing to the Nasdaq Global Market, raising $90 million in its initial public offering (IPO). The amount raised falls severely short of the earlier $400 million placeholder target reported prior to the event.

According to Bloomberg, which quoted filings from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Canaan sold 10 million shares for $9 each on Nov. 20. Shares of the firm soared as much as 44% peaking at $11.23, then fell as much as 8.8% in New York trading during their debut. The shared ending the day a penny below their offer price closing at $8.99, pricing them at the bottom of the marketed range.

A setback occurred last week when Canaan lost its lead underwriter, Credit Suisse Group AG. As a result of the dropout, the size of the IPO was dramatically reduced as documents presented at the time contained a projected $100 million goal without mentioning Credit Suisse.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that Credit Suisse “was concerned whether the offering could secure sufficient orders.”

The successful completion nonetheless makes Canaan the first crypto mining giant to navigate an IPO, beating major competitor Bitmain, which also has IPO aspiration. Like Canaan, Bitmain failed to secure permission to conduct the IPO in Hong Kong in 2018.

The offering was led by Citigroup Inc., China Renaissance Holdings Ltd., and CMB International Capital Ltd. Shares of Canaan Creative are trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol CAN.