Fitbit欲借IPO與Apple Watch競爭

Fitbit and some of its shareholders hope to raise up to $478m in its initial public offering, giving the wearables maker additional fuel to race against rivals from Apple and Samsung to Jawbone and Xiaomi.

可穿戴設備製造商Fitbit及其部分股東希望通過首次公開招股(IPO)籌集4.78億美元資金，爲自己與從蘋果(Apple)和三星(Samsung)到卓邦(Jawbone)和小米(Xiaomi)的各類競爭對手賽跑加油。

In a key test of public-market investors’ appetites for new consumer device makers, the maker of fitness trackers set an initial pricing range of $14-$16 yesterday, after filing to go public last month.

這家健身跟蹤設備製造商在上月提交了上市申請，並於昨日確定了初始發行價區間爲每股14美元到16美元。這場IPO將測試公開市場投資者有多大的興趣投資新創消費設備製造商。

Fitbit intends to sell 22.4m shares, raising up to $358m for general corporate purposes, at the top end of the range, while existing investors, including the company’s founders, will sell 7.5m shares for up to $120m.

Fitbit計劃發行2240萬股，按照上述定價區間的高端計算，將可籌集3.58億美元資金用於一般性企業用途。同時，包括創始人在內的現有投資者將出售750萬股，最高套現1.2億美元。

The IPO could value Fitbit at more than $3bn, putting it on a par with Jawbone, one of its main rivals in the market for fitness wearables. It raised $300m in debt from BlackRock about a month ago.

按照IPO發行價計算，Fitbit的估值可能超過30億美元，與卓邦不相上下——後者是Fitbit在可穿戴健身設備市場的主要對手之一。大約一個月前，Fitbit還曾通過向貝萊德(BlackRock)舉債，籌得3億美元。

But the flotation comes as the listings market has slowed dramatically. US-listed IPOs total less than $15bn year-to-date, the slowest pace since 2010.

不過，目前新股上市節奏已經明顯放緩。今年迄今，美國市場上的IPO融資總規模還不到150億美元，爲2010年以來的最低水平。

Fitbit’s pitch to prospective investors shows it is profitable and growing fast, with plans to expand into broader consumer-health services.

在針對潛在投資者的宣傳中，Fitbit自稱是一傢俱有盈利能力、增長迅速的企業，並計劃將業務拓展至更大範圍的消費者健康服務領域。