Fitbit欲借IPO与Apple Watch竞争

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.

可穿戴设备制造商Fitbit及其部分股东希望通过首次公开招股(IPO)筹集4.78亿美元资金，为自己与从苹果(Apple)和三星(Samsung)到卓邦(Jawbone)和小米(Xiaomi)的各类竞争对手赛跑加油。

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.

这家健身跟踪设备制造商在上月提交了上市申请，并于昨日确定了初始发行价区间为每股14美元到16美元。这场IPO将测试公开市场投资者有多大的兴趣投资新创消费设备制造商。

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计划发行2240万股，按照上述定价区间的高端计算，将可筹集3.58亿美元资金用于一般性企业用途。同时，包括创始人在内的现有投资者将出售750万股，最高套现1.2亿美元。

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发行价计算，Fitbit的估值可能超过30亿美元，与卓邦不相上下——后者是Fitbit在可穿戴健身设备市场的主要对手之一。大约一个月前，Fitbit还曾通过向贝莱德(BlackRock)举债，筹得3亿美元。

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.

不过，目前新股上市节奏已经明显放缓。今年迄今，美国市场上的IPO融资总规模还不到150亿美元，为2010年以来的最低水平。

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

在针对潜在投资者的宣传中，Fitbit自称是一家具有盈利能力、增长迅速的企业，并计划将业务拓展至更大范围的消费者健康服务领域。