GDS Files for IPO

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 2:42AM EST · Published Oct 6, 12:10PM EDT

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GDS Holdings has filed an F-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its initial public offering (IPO). No pricing details were given in the filing, but the offering was valued up to $200 million. The company intends to list its American depositary shares (ADSs) under the symbol GDS.

The underwriters for the offering are Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, Citigroup, RBC Capital Markets, China Renaissance and Credit Agricole CIB.

This is a leading developer and operator of high-performance data centers in China. Its facilities are strategically located in China’s primary economic hubs, where demand for high-performance data center services is concentrated. The data centers have large net floor area, high power capacity, density and efficiency, and multiple redundancy across all critical systems.

The company is carrier and cloud neutral, which enables customers to connect to all major PRC telecommunications carriers, and to access a number of the largest PRC cloud service providers, that are hosted in its facilities.

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GDS has a 15-year track record of service delivery, successfully fulfilling the requirements of some of the largest and most demanding customers for outsourced data center services in China. Its base of over 300 customers consists predominantly of large internet companies, financial institutions, telecommunications and IT service providers, and large domestic private sector and multinational corporations.

Net revenue increased by 50.2% to $105.9 million from 2014 to 2015. For the six-month period ended June 30, 2016, net revenues grew by 46.7% to $67.3 million when compared to the same period in 2015. Adjusted EBITDA was $24.8 million in 2015 and $15.1 million in the six-month period ended June 30, 2016. The net loss decreased to $14.8 million in 2015 from the previous year. Also the net loss increased $23.2 million in the six months ended June 30, 2016. As of December 31, 2015, and June 30, 2016, the accumulated deficit was $87.6 million and $110.8 million, respectively.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to repay indebtedness, develop and acquire new data centers, and pay preferred dividends. The remainder will be used for general corporate purposes.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.