CHINESE athletic apparel producer Peak Sport Products Co. is planning an initial public offering (IPO) of A shares as soon as next year after delisting from Hong Kong’s stock exchange in 2016, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company was most recently valued at 9 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion), the people said. It’s currently working with an adviser to raise fresh capital before its planned domestic IPO, the people said.

Deliberations on the size and timeline of the fundraising as well as the potential IPO are preliminary and may not lead to any transactions, the people said. A Peak representative declined to comment when contacted by phone.

Peak was delisted from the Hong Kong stock market in a US$311 million take-private deal in November 2016. The following February, the company announced its intention to seek a domestic listing, according to a press release on Peak’s official WeChat account.

The firm raised 2.5 billion yuan at the time from institutional investors including Shenzhen-based DGC Private Equity, Everbright Sports Fund, China Minsheng Banking Corp. and Guosen Securities Co., among others.

Based in southeastern China’s Fujian Province, Peak designs, produces and distributes sportswear and footwear under its eponymous brand. Founder Xu Jingnan started the company in 1988 and established the brand three years later, according to its investor relations website.

China’s push to raise sports participation among its population is set to boost the sales and profit growth of sportswear brands, Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Catherine Lim wrote in a Sept. 2020 report.

(SD-Agencies)