Huoqi Targets 3 Billion Valuation as Third-Party Funding Begins

Recently, the Borton Chinese Business Group held its 2019 annual shareholders' meeting. According to a participant, shareholders, including Borton Group, have raised the valuation expectation for Huoqi to 3 billion RMB and are in talks with several well-known U.S. capital institutions, including those that have invested in Cisco, Oracle, and Alibaba.

Building the "Chinese Version of JUUL"

In recent years, the e-cigarette industry has developed rapidly and remains popular. As the industry matures, e-cigarettes will face tightening regulations and market reshuffling. According to insiders, at the shareholders' meeting, Borton Group Chairman Wang Mingfan expressed satisfaction with Huoqi's development and market performance, actively stating a willingness to continue increasing investment in economic and channel development to make Huoqi a more powerful enterprise.

Industry insiders claim that Borton aims to build Huoqi into the "Chinese version of JUUL."
 
From left: Huoqi Chairman Fan Jingyu, center: Borton Chairman Wang Mingfan, right: Huoqi General Manager Ma Jing

JUUL is regarded as a revolutionary e-cigarette product and is the leading product in the U.S. e-cigarette market, valued at $38 billion and capturing 30% of the U.S. e-cigarette market, making it a phenomenal e-cigarette bestseller.

Looking at Huoqi's performance in recent years, Huoqi's new product achieved astonishing results of "200,000 main units and 3 million pods in a single month" just three months after its launch; it recruited a total of 31 provincial agents in China and Southeast Asia, covering 26 provinces and cities including Taiwan and four Southeast Asian countries in just 256 hours.
 

From both Huoqi's product and market performance perspectives, Huoqi possesses the potential factors to achieve "bestseller" status. With the support of Borton Group, one of the only two flavor suppliers for China Tobacco Group, whether Huoqi can become the "Chinese version of JUUL" is not out of the question.

U.S. Capital Giants Lead Investment in Huoqi E-Cigarettes

However, more notably, rumors after the meeting indicated that shareholders have raised the valuation expectation for Huoqi to 3 billion RMB and are in talks with several well-known U.S. capital institutions, including those that have invested in Cisco, Oracle, and Alibaba.
 

In 2019, the e-cigarette industry saw a surge in financing for companies. Individuals from the mobile phone and internet industries have flocked to the market, and internet celebrities like Luo Yonghao have also begun to enter the e-cigarette industry. Some have joked, "You can create an e-cigarette brand for 5 million, and 50 million can take you to the finals."

Huoqi E-Cigarettes, established two years ago, is now valued at 3 billion, and rumors suggest that third-party financing is about to start, with U.S. capital giants entering the scene. It is evident that more and more investors are stepping into the e-cigarette arena, and Huoqi, which is about to receive a new round of financing, gains an advantage in such a fiercely competitive e-cigarette market.
 

From investment circles and e-cigarette industry insiders, it is understood that in the upcoming third-party financing for Huoqi, several well-known investment firms hope to lead this financing, but the specific amount remains unclear.

In the capital-concealed e-cigarette market, the second half is bound to be a fierce battle. Whoever secures capital and market favor first will hold the power of discourse.