China's Green Biotech raises 878M yuan in fragrance IPO after six-year pursuit
What's the deal? Green BiotechDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Chinese fragrance-ingredient maker, went public on the Shenzhen Stock ExchangeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → on September 2, raising 877.7 million yuan (about $130.6 million). Shares opened at 59 yuan, up 124% from the 26.33 yuan issue price, and touched 70.15 yuan intraday — lifting the company's market value to roughly 9.33 billion yuan.
Why now? The listing followed a six-year, three-attempt effort. Green Biotech first filed in December 2020 but withdrew months later after failing to disclose a subsidiary's environmental penalty. A second bid, filed in June 2023, was pulled in September 2024 before the company finally cleared review in 2026.
What's the endgame? Founded in 1999, Green Biotech develops and sells fragrance ingredients across three product lines: turpentine, cedarwood oil, and fully synthetic compounds. Net IPO proceeds will fund annual production of 6,300 tonnes of advanced fragrances, smart factory upgrades, and research improvements.
By the numbers: Revenue grew from 735 million yuan in 2023 to 1.075 billion yuan in 2025, with net profit rising from 92.9 million to 179 million yuan. But growth is slowing: 2025 revenue and profit rose 11.9% and 19%, down sharply from 30.7% and 61.9% a year earlier.
What could go wrong? Green Biotech draws about 85% of revenue from exports, chiefly to Europe, Asia, and North America, exposing it to trade and currency risks. In its prospectus, it warned that if "tariffs, customs management or access policies" turn unfavourable, overseas sales would suffer. First-quarter 2026 net profit slipped 1.13% on foreign-exchange losses.
Notable customers: The company supplies major international houses including GivaudanDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, dsm-firmenichDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, IFFDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, SymriseDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Procter & GambleDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Its top five clients accounted for over 40% of 2025 revenue.
The signal: Green Biotech becomes China's "first fragrance stock of 2026," joining a wave of listings in a sector where the domestic flavour-and-fragrance market topped 58 billion yuan in 2023, up 6.3% year on year. As IPO momentum builds behind names like YaxiangDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Zhongcao Xiangliao, the challenge now is sustaining growth while managing tariff and exchange-rate pressure abroad.
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
