The Sky is the Limit: DJI Seeking $500M Funding to Enter Stock Market
World-leading Chinese drone manufacturer is seeking to go public and to do so wants a half a billion dollars in investment, it was reported today.
Famous for their widely popular, consumer level Phantom drone series, the dronemaker is said to be in discussion with investors with a view to entering the stock, trusted sources told Reuters today.
While the company currently has the lion’s share of the civilian drone market, they are apparently looking to expand into industrial sectors such as energy, construction and precision agriculture, two out of three sources said.
Their position as the civilian drone market leader was confirmed by figures drawn from FAA registration and published in a preliminary but detailed analysis by the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College last year.
If successfully negotiated, the combination of new equity and debt funding would reportedly value the Chinese drone giant at about $15 billion – nearly double its valuation in 2015.
Source: DJI
According to one source, the funding figure could even be as high as $800 million.
DJI hopes to close the sky-high deal within coming months, with a stock market float expected on either the Hong Kong or Chinese stock exchange within the next year, two sources told Reuters.
When approached, a spokeswoman for DJI responded by email that DJI had no funding-related announcement and that an initial public offering was not under consideration for the present time. She did not elaborate.
DJI have their eyes on the sky, and with a keen interest on compliant drone use, have partnered with aviation authorities in the US, the UK and Australia to introduce a knowledge quiz before being able to fly their DJI drone.
Source: DJI
In 2015 the company was valued at about $8 billion in 2015 after raising $75 million from Silicon Valley venture capital firm Accel Partners. This increased to $10 billion last year, according to one source.
The first details of DJI’s latest fundraising plans were reported this Tuesday by online technology publication The Information.
