Ant Group-backed DSC targets $901 million valuation in US IPO

(Reuters) – China’s DSC Holdings, which provides operating systems for used car dealers in China, is targeting a valuation of up to $901 ​million in its U.S. initial public offering, the auto ‌dealer software provider said on Wednesday.

The Jinhua, Zhejiang-based company, better known as Dasouche, is seeking up to $54 million by offering 3 million American depositary shares priced ​between $16 and $18 apiece.

Chinese IPOs in New York have been slow ​to come over the past year after U.S. President ⁠Donald Trump’s tariff turmoil drove up geopolitical tensions between Washington ​and Beijing.

Beijing has also tightened scrutiny around firms pursuing offshore IPOs ​in recent years, including U.S. listings.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission signed off on DSC’s planned New York IPO in April, marking the first nod to a ​U.S. listing application in four months.

Founded in 2012 by Junhong Yao, DSC ​provides digitalization tools and transaction services to used car dealers in China – the ‌world’s ⁠largest automotive market.

DSC, citing data from CIC, said it holds over 90% market share in operating systems for China’s used car dealers. Its flagship digitalization tool, DaFengChe, largely free for used car ​dealers, spans inventory ​sourcing and management, ⁠marketing, sales, and business analysis.

The firm’s backers include venture capital firm 5Y Capital, investment firm Primavera ​Capital and Jack Ma-backed Ant Group.

API (Hong Kong) Investment, ​which is ⁠wholly owned by Ant Group, is set to buy up to $30 million of DSC shares from the offering.

Deutsche Bank, CICC, CR Global ⁠Markets, ​and ICBC International are the underwriters for ​the offering. The company will list on the Nasdaq under the symbol “DSC.”

Reporting by Arasu ​Kannagi Basil and Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva