IPO linked to Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou oversubscribed 13 times by Hong Kong investors

Star Plus Legend Holdings, a low-carb coffee and drinks maker, was founded by Jay Chou’s mother Yeh Hui-Mei in 2017

The maker of bulletproof coffee raised HK$245.2 million (US$31.3 million) after pricing shares at HK$4.25 each

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Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou in a still from the Netflix show J-Style Trip. Photo: Handout

Published: 3:37pm, 12 Jul 2023

The initial public offering (IPO) of Star Plus Legend Holdings, a low-carb coffee and drinks maker founded by Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou’s mother, has proved to be a hit with individual investors, who are betting on the singer’s star power to sustain growth.

The tranche of 12.7 million shares reserved for Hong Kong retail investors was oversubscribed 13 times, Star Plus said in an exchange filing. The 114 million shares for global investors were oversubscribed 1.15 times.

Star Plus sells bulletproof coffee – a high-calorie caffeinated drink made with added fat specially designed for a low-carbohydrate diet – under the Modong brand in China. The company’s shares will start trading in the city on Thursday after raising HK$245.2 million (US$31.3 million) in net proceeds. The stock was priced at HK$4.25 each.

The retail frenzy for the IPO underscores Star Plus’ unique business model that extends into intellectual property (IP), media content creation and event planning by leveraging Chou’s influence on his legion of fans. For example, the company is the creator and owner of J-Style Trip, a reality show starring Chou that aired on Netflix in 2020. The IP-linked business contributed to 30 per cent of its revenue last year, while the remainder came from the sale of retail products from diet drinks and food to skincare items, according to the prospectus.

Jay Chou, dubbed the King of Mandopop, has sold more than 30 million records. Photo: Handout

“We heavily rely on Mr Jay Chou for both our new retail business and IP creation and operation business,” Star Plus said in the prospectus. “Our business grew as certain of our IPs related to Mr Jay Chou generated revenue on their own, and these IPs also created promotional effect on our products under the new retail segment.”