After moving from Shenzhen to Zaozhuang, this well-known pharmaceutical chain started the A-share IPO.
Original Economic Herald Shandong Financial Report
Reporter | Duan Haitao
After moving from Shenzhen to Zaozhuang, Shandong Neptune Star Pharmaceutical Chain Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Neptune Star"), a well-known domestic pharmaceutical chain enterprise, started the journey of A-share IPO.
The Economic Herald reporter noted that Nepstar signed an IPO counseling agreement with CITIC Securities on August 29, and conducted counseling and filing in Shandong Securities Regulatory Bureau on August 31. As a company delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in 2016, whether Nepstar can land in A shares as a Shandong enterprise and let Zaozhuang add another listed company is quite interesting.
Nepstar rushed to the market as a "Lu enterprise"
According to the counseling record report, Nepstar was established in June 2004 with a registered capital of 474,226,800 yuan, and its legal representative is Zhang Simin. The registered address of the company is New Pharmaceutical Industrial Park, High-tech Zone, Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province. Shenzhen Haihe Investment Development Co., Ltd. holds 52.82% of the shares and is the controlling shareholder. It is reported that CITIC Securities’ tutoring work for Neptune will last from September to November, 2023, and the time is quite tight.
The Economic Herald reporter learned that Neptune Star was originally a Shenzhen enterprise, and its registered address was moved to Zaozhuang in 2022.
Eye-catching shows that in November 2022, Nepstar changed its registered address from Nanshan District of Shenzhen to Zaozhuang High-tech Zone, and its company name was also changed from Shenzhen Nepstar Commercial Development Co., Ltd. to Shandong Nepstar Health Technology Co., Ltd. In April 2023, the company name was changed to Nepstar Pharmaceutical Chain Group Co., Ltd. again, and in June 2023, the company name was changed to its current name.
In fact, Neptune is well-known in the field of pharmaceutical chain.
According to official website information, Nepstar started from the first community retail pharmacy in 1996, and now it has realized the evolution of more than 4,000 health chain pharmacies distributed in more than 70 first-and second-tier cities in China, with more than 80 million members online and offline. According to reports, Nepstar is determined to be a professional health pharmacy closer to consumers. More than 80% of the stores are community pharmacies, which are the closest to consumers and are the most convenient places for community residents to buy medicines and health consultation.
The reporter of Economic Herald learned that Nepstar pharmacies are mainly distributed in Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Liaoning, Jilin and other provinces and cities, and the outlets in Shandong are mainly distributed in Qingdao and Weifang. According to the map of official website, there are about 50 pharmacies in Kuiwen District of Weifang, and the outlets are quite dense.
According to official website of Neptune Group, the annual sales scale of Neptune Star exceeds 10 billion, ranking among the top in the industry.
In order to further understand the listing target plate of Nepstar and the current situation of the company, the reporter of Economic Herald called Nepstar on September 6, and the relevant person said that it was "unclear". She also needed to know the situation from other personnel, and she did not respond to the request for providing the contact information of the specific responsible department.
Neptune Group has a lot of interaction with Zaozhuang.
Before the launch of the A-share IPO, Neptune had a listing trip in the US stock market.
According to media reports, in November 2007, Nepstar landed on the new york Stock Exchange, becoming the first chain pharmacy in China to be listed on the NYSE, raising more than 380 million US dollars, which was the highest for the listed companies in China pharmaceutical industry that year. After the listing of US stocks, Nepstar once became the largest chain pharmacy in China. However, since 2010, Neptune’s business situation has turned sharply. By July 2015, Nepstar announced its delisting from the US stock market, and completed related work in 2016.
The reporter of the Economic Herald noted that during the "wasted years" of Neptune, many chain pharmacies in China were listed on A-shares one after another, and achieved leap-forward development. For example, the number of pharmacies in Yifeng Pharmacy and Renmin (603883. SH) exceeded 10,000 in 2022, and Shuyu Civilian in Shandong landed in July 2021.
After the Growth Enterprise Market, the number of stores quickly exceeded 5,000 in 2022, but Neptune gradually fell behind.
"Many A-share chain pharmacies have expanded the number of stores through listing. If Neptune wants to catch up with the first echelon, listing is a more effective way." Feng Yue, a private equity fund manager in Jinan, told the Economic Herald reporter.
The Economic Herald reporter found out that before Neptune moved to Shandong to start the A-share IPO, Neptune Group had increasingly close ties with Zaozhuang.
According to official website, Neptune Group was founded in Shenzhen in 1989. Over the past 30 years, the company has focused on the innovation and development of the medical and health industry. At present, there are two listed companies, Neptune Bio and Neptune Intelon. In 2022, the sales scale of the group reached 90 billion, with 35,000 employees, and its comprehensive strength was in the forefront of the pharmaceutical industry in China. Neptune Star is an important member of Neptune Group’s medical business map.
In 2021, the key project of Haiwang Group, Haiwang Youpin Headquarters and Health Industry Production Base, settled in Zaozhuang, and also laid out the Haiwang Health Town Project. According to media reports, the Haiwang Premium Production Base project has a total investment of 6 billion yuan, which will be built in two phases. The main products are health foods such as special medical foods, special dietary products and protein powder, with an annual output of 200 million cans and an annual output value of more than 12 billion yuan.
On August 21st, 2022, the signing ceremony of Neptune Star (Headquarters) and Neptune Medicine Intelligent Manufacturing Base was held in Zaozhuang. Zhang Simin, chairman of Neptune Group, said that the formal signing of the contract between Neptune Group and Zaozhuang High-tech Zone marked that the medical and health industry cluster jointly planned and laid out by both parties officially landed in Zaozhuang.
In February 2023, when Zhang Simin led a delegation to visit Zaozhuang, he said that Neptune Group would further give play to its brand advantages, and at the same time accelerate the construction of medical intelligent logistics platforms, health care products and traditional Chinese medicine preparations, increase the inclination of funds and resources, and promote more projects with high added value and high potential value to be laid out in Zaozhuang.
It is worth looking forward to whether Neptune can land in A shares as an Zaozhuang enterprise this time.
Editor | Dai Yue
Copyright | Shandong Financial Report
Original title: "After moving from Shenzhen to Zaozhuang, this well-known pharmaceutical chain started the A-share IPO"
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