Copper foil supplier to leading EV battery makers seeks what could be the largest U.S. listing by a Chinese company in more than a year despite heavy debt and thin margins.
By Doug Young
Chinese copper foil producer Londian Wason is seeking to capitalize on an improving battery market with plans for what could become the largest U.S. initial public offering by a mainland Chinese company in more than a year, even as investors weigh the company’s heavy debt burden and exposure to the industry’s boom-and-bust cycles.
The company, which supplies a key material used in electric vehicle batteries, energy storage systems and printed circuit boards, has filed for a New York Stock Exchange listing that could raise about $350 million, according to estimates by Renaissance Capital. If achieved, it would be the biggest Chinese IPO in the U.S. since milk tea chain Chagee (CHA.US) raised $411 million in April 2025.
The offering would also mark another tentative step in the reopening of the U.S. market for Chinese issuers after years of heightened regulatory scrutiny in both Washington and Beijing. Only two mainland China-based companies have received approval from China’s securities regulator, the CSRC, for U.S. IPOs since December, underscoring the increasingly selective approval process.
Structural challenges
Londian Wason enters the market with improving financial momentum after returning to profit in the first quarter of 2026. But its prospectus also highlights structural challenges, including significant borrowings, negative operating cash flow in recent years and pricing pressure from a handful of large battery customers.
China’s securities regulator now requires approval for all offshore listings, including those in the U.S., and has tightened scrutiny amid geopolitical tensions and efforts to curb smaller, lower-quality overseas listings.
Since Dec. 12 last year, the regulator has approved only Londian Wason and used-car trading platform DSC Holdings(DSC.US) for U.S. flotations. DSC made its Nasdaq debut last month after raising about $50 million. A third company, Hong Kong-based Green Circle Decarbonize Technology (CGDT.US), also listed in the U.S. this year, although under CSRC regulations it wasn’t required to file a notice with the regulator.
Unlike many of the smaller Chinese companies that listed in New York in recent years, Londian Wason has assembled a syndicate of established underwriters including Cantor Fitzgerald, CMB International and Huatai Securities. It has also attracted investors with strong ties to the battery industry, including South Korea’s SK Inc. and Mirae Asset, together with Chinese automaker GAC.
The company’s customer roster further underlines its position in the battery supply chain. It supplies copper foil to major battery manufacturers including LG Energy Solution, Panasonic Industrial Materials, SK On, Samsung SDI, CATL and BYD.
Recovery gathers pace
Londian Wason’s chairman and co-chief executive, Wang Guanran, 26, is the son of Wang Weidong, a former official at the China Securities Regulatory Commission who later built a business group spanning several companies, including businesses that now form part of Londian Wason. Wang Guanran shares the chief executive role with Zhou Guangling, 41, a finance executive who previously worked at Hong Kong-listed Lingbao Gold, another company within the family’s business interests.
The company’s products occupy a strategically important position in the new energy supply chain. Copper foil is an essential component in lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Londian Wason also generates part of its revenue from copper foil used in printed circuit boards, a segment benefiting from demand for AI-related computing hardware such as servers.
Despite those attractive end markets, the business faces persistent commercial pressures. Battery manufacturers are highly concentrated, giving large customers considerable bargaining power over prices. At the same time, copper foil production requires substantial capital investment, while the battery industry itself remains highly cyclical after years of aggressive capacity expansion created oversupply.
Those conditions weighed heavily on Londian Wason in 2024 before market conditions improved. Revenue rose 24% in 2025 to 10.9 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) as demand and pricing recovered. The rebound accelerated in the first quarter of 2026, when revenue more than doubled to 4.07 billion yuan from 1.91 billion yuan a year earlier.
Improving market conditions also lifted profitability. Gross margin increased to 10.4% in the first quarter from 3.0% a year earlier, while the company posted a net profit of 134 million yuan, reversing a loss of 68.4 million yuan in the same period last year.
Heavy debt remains a concern
Even with the earnings recovery, Londian Wason continues to face financial constraints. It ended last year with 5.54 billion yuan of short-term borrowings and another 4 billion yuan of long-term debt as it continued investing heavily in production capacity.
The company reported negative operating cash flow in both 2024 and 2025, reducing its cash reserves. In its prospectus, it disclosed that it had recently experienced a net working capital deficiency that raised “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern before receiving financial support from a major shareholder.
While the company’s elite client base and positioning in the artificial intelligence hardware supply chain—providing specialized copper foil for printed circuit boards in AI servers—offer significant secular upside, its business model remains highly vulnerable. Concentrated purchasing power among a few dominant battery monopolies limits Londian Wason’s pricing authority, meaning the capital-starved manufacturer remains exposed to severe financial strain whenever the broader clean-energy sector enters its next cyclical downturn.
To subscribe to Bamboo Works weekly free newsletter, click here
