Scope: 36Kr Pitchhub 2026 (January–May) IPOs 57 entries + M&A/mergers 55 entries + strategic financing 59 entries(some with M&A attributes) = 171 exit-side events(accounting for 15% of the entire market).
In one sentence: three characteristics of the exit side
- Hong Kong IPO concentration — 40% of IPOs are denominated in Hong Kong dollars; Chapter 18C opens the gate for unprofitable technology companies
- Cross-border M&A = the largest single-deal capital — All 5 deals above US$6 billion are M&As (Silicon Labs / Terns / Moonton), led by USD funds + MNCs
- State-owned M&A restructuring — Mid-sized M&As such as Huayu / Jingyi Expressway / Eurocrane are all local state-owned asset restructurings
IPO Top 20
| Date | Project | Amount | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-21 | Shenghong Technology | HK$20.117 billion (≈ US$2.6 billion) | Traditional manufacturing (PCB) |
| 2026-02-06 | Muyuan Foods | HK$10.684 billion | Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery (live hogs) |
| 2026-02-03 | Dongpeng Beverage | HK$10.141 billion | Consumer e-commerce (beverages) |
| 2026-02-09 | Montage Technology | HK$7.043 billion | Advanced manufacturing (DDR interface chips) |
| 2026-04-21 | SJ Semiconductor | RMB 5.028 billion | Advanced manufacturing (Chiplet packaging) |
| 2026-02-11 | Lead Intelligent | HK$4.931 billion | Enterprise services (lithium battery equipment) |
| 2026-02-06 | Han's CNC | HK$4.833 billion | Advanced manufacturing (laser equipment) |
| 2026-01-09 | MiniMax | HK$4.818 billion | IoT/hardware (large models) |
| 2026-01-13 | GigaDevice | HK$4.684 billion | Advanced manufacturing (memory chips) |
| 2026-04-23 | Huaqin Communication | HK$4.549 billion | Advanced manufacturing (ODM) |
| 2026-01-28 | Mingmang Mangmang | HK$3.670 billion | Consumer e-commerce (snacks) |
| 2026-04-17 | Changguang Chenxin | HK$2.604 billion | Advanced manufacturing (CMOS image sensors) |
| 2026-03-25 | Hefei Shiya | RMB 2.268 billion | Advanced manufacturing (Micro-OLED) |
| 2026-05-18 | Tianhai Electronics | RMB 2.148 billion | Automotive mobility (automotive-grade electronics) |
| 2026-03-25 | Chengdu Hongming Electronics | RMB 2.117 billion | Smart hardware (capacitors) |
| 2026-01-09 | Ribo Bio | HK$1.832 billion | Healthcare (small nucleic acid drugs) |
| 2026-04-17 | Coohom Cloud (Kujiale) | HK$1.224 billion | Frontier technology + enterprise services |
| 2026-03-06 | Suzhou Gude Electrical Materials | RMB 1.201 billion | Medical materials |
| 2026-01-08 | MedBot Surgical | HK$1.199 billion | Healthcare (surgical robots) |
| 2026-05-06 | Cofoe Medical | HK$1.062 billion | Healthcare (home medical care) |
Top 15 M&As
| Date | Project | Amount | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-09 | Silicon Labs China | Approximately US$7.5 billion | Advanced manufacturing (semiconductor business carve-out) |
| 2026-03-25 | Terns Pharmaceuticals | US$6 billion | Healthcare (innovative drug license-out M&A) |
| 2026-03-20 | Moonton Games | Over US$6 billion | Sports games (mobile game overseas expansion company) |
| 2026-02-06 | Dingdong Maicai | US$717 million | Consumer e-commerce (fresh produce e-commerce) |
| 2026-01-27 | Daylight Entertainment | RMB 4.6 billion | Culture and entertainment (film and television) |
| 2026-04-10 | Huayu Mining | RMB 2.512 billion | Traditional manufacturing (mining - state-owned) |
| 2026-03-03 | Jingyi Expressway | RMB 2.409 billion | Automotive mobility (expressway - state-owned) |
| 2026-03-12 | Huabo Renewable Resources | RMB 1.415 billion | Traditional manufacturing (non-ferrous metal recycling) |
| 2026-03-30 | Yidao New Energy | RMB 1.258 billion | Energy and environmental protection (photovoltaic modules) |
| 2026-03-03 | Eurocrane | RMB 1.141 billion | Advanced manufacturing (lifting machinery - state-owned) |
| 2026-04-09 | Baihua Pharmaceutical | RMB 890 million | Healthcare (traditional Chinese medicine resources) |
| 2026-01-26 | Arconic | US$90.9 million | Traditional manufacturing |
| 2026-04-21 | Zelian Technology | RMB 605 million | Enterprise services |
| 2026-04-10 | Guangwei Technology | RMB 510 million | Frontier technology |
| 2026-03-25 | Hynetek | RMB 400 million | Advanced manufacturing |
Deep dive into the 5 deals above US$6 billion
1. Silicon Labs China (2026-02-09) — US$7.5 billion
Event: The entire China business of US-based Silicon Labs (NASDAQ-listed, NASDAQ: SLAB) was carved out and acquired by a domestic consortium, with a valuation of approximately US$7.5 billion.
Why it matters:
- Over the past 24 months the largest single cross-border M&A deal
- A concrete example of US-China decoupling: the China business of overseas semiconductor companies undergoes "in-situ localization" (assets, teams, and customers are fully retained, only shareholders change)
- Signal: more overseas semiconductor / technology companies will follow a similar path (domestic consortium + state capital + USD fund syndicate)
2. Terns Pharmaceuticals (2026-03-25) — US$6 billion
See China Healthcare Financing 2026 H1 Deep Dive section "Terns US$6 billion M&A — milestone for innovative drug overseas expansion".
3. Moonton Games (2026-03-20) — over US$6 billion
Event: Moonton Technology (with hundreds of millions of global monthly active users for *Mobile Legends: Bang Bang* (MLBB)) was acquired at a valuation exceeding US$6 billion.
Why it is rare:
- 2026 H1 The only mega deal in the sports games category
- A successful model for Chinese game companies expanding overseas (Moonton's teams are based in Beijing + Shanghai, a leader in overseas SLG/MOBA)
- Temporarily puts an end to the debate over "whether overseas game companies are worth this much"
4. Shenghong Technology Hong Kong IPO (2026-04-21) — HK$20.117 billion
Event: Shenzhen Shenghong Technology (PCB manufacturing) launched its Hong Kong IPO, raising HK$20.117 billion (approximately US$2.6 billion).
Why it is large:
- The largest single IPO deal in 2026 H1
- A direct beneficiary of the explosive demand for PCBs for AI servers / GPU clusters
- In the same month of April, there was also a US$997 million "cornerstone investment round" (anchor investment before the IPO)
5. Moonshot AI Series D US$2 billion
See China AI / Frontier Technology Financing 2026 H1 Deep Dive. Technically it is not an exit, but the amount is close to a "final pre-IPO round", so it is listed here for comparison.
Hong Kong IPO concentration
Among the 57 IPOs, 23 are denominated in Hong Kong dollars (40%); if adding several cases listed in Hong Kong in the same period with RMB-denominated offerings (such as SJ Semiconductor's RMB 5.028 billion listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange), the total may approach 50%.
Industry distribution of Hong Kong IPOs:
- Advanced manufacturing: 6 deals (Montage / GigaDevice / Changguang Chenxin / Huaqin / Han's CNC / Lead)
- Healthcare: 5 deals (Ribo / MedBot / Cofoe / NorthXin, etc.)
- Consumer e-commerce: 3 deals (Muyuan / Dongpeng / Mingmang Mangmang)
- Frontier technology / AI: 2 deals (MiniMax / Coohom)
- Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery / others: 7 deals
Why Hong Kong 18C / 18A become the main battlefield:
- 18A (2018–): Unprofitable biotech companies can list — dedicated to healthcare
- 18C (2023–): Unprofitable specialist technology companies can list (AI / semiconductors / new energy)
- A-shares have tightened rules for unprofitable technology companies since 2024
- US stocks have seen a delisting wave since 2024 (Didi / Pinduoduo financial reporting compliance risks)
- Hong Kong stocks have low valuations but the highest certainty, with listing possible in 3–6 months
Three models of M&A
Mode A: Cross-border acquisitions / MNC entry into China (largest single-deal size)
Representatives: Silicon Labs China US$7.5 billion / Terns US$6 billion
Characteristics: Carve-out of China businesses of overseas companies, or full acquisition of Chinese biotechs by overseas MNCs.USD-denominated amounts,Consortium M&A.
Mode B: Overseas acquisition of Chinese outbound companies (rare but large)
Representative: Moonton Games US$6 billion (type speculated, specific acquirer needs verification)
Characteristics: Chinese teams / overseas revenue, acquired by overseas companies / consortia.
Mode C: Local state-owned asset restructuring (high deal count but mid-sized amounts)
Representatives: Huayu Mining RMB 2.5 billion / Jingyi Expressway RMB 2.4 billion / Eurocrane RMB 1.1 billion / Yidao New Energy RMB 1.2 billion
Characteristics:
- RMB-denominated
- Internal transfers between state-owned entities (local governments restructuring assets under their umbrella)
- Mostly in "traditional manufacturing" / "automotive mobility" / "energy and environmental protection" industries
- Do not create VC exits, but are compliant deals covered by 36Kr
Mode D: Industry chain integration / listed company acquisitions
Representatives: Baihua Pharmaceutical's acquisition of traditional Chinese medicine assets for RMB 890 million / Guangwei Technology RMB 510 million
Characteristics: Already listed companies use stock-for-stock or cash to acquire upstream/downstream or peer companies in the industry chain.
59 strategic financing entries = the "polite name" for some M&As
"Strategic financing" is a rather ambiguous tag in 36Kr, including:
- Genuine strategic investors (Tencent / Alibaba / ByteDance / state-owned strategic investors)
- Deals that are essentially controlling stake changes but did not go through the M&A channel
- Secondary share transfers
- Debt / income right instruments
Deals that are actually exit-side should number around 20–30 mixed within the 59 strategic financing entries (require item-by-item review; this wiki has not yet split them in detail).
Three judgments
1. Hong Kong stocks are the only controllable exit window for Chinese VCs in 2026
A-shares: Too long a cycle (2–3 years) + tightened rules for unprofitable companies US stocks: Delisting wave + low valuations for Chinese concept stocks Hong Kong stocks: 18A / 18C / Main Board = listing possible in 6–12 months, low valuations but certain
VCs should place all their "exit expectations" on Hong Kong stocks.
2. All US$6 billion-level "mega deals" are M&As
Among the 5 deals over US$6 billion (Silicon Labs / Terns / Moonton / Shenghong IPO US$2.6 billion / Moonshot AI Series D US$2 billion), only 1 is an IPO.The real big money occurs in M&A, which means:
- Leading company exits rely not on IPOs but on MNC acquisitions
- Entrepreneur ROI expectation: become top 5 in the industry → wait for acquisition by overseas MNCs, rather than grinding toward an IPO
3. Mid-sized M&As are all state-owned restructurings, with no VC participation
Among the 55 M&A deals, apart from 4–5 cross-border USD mega deals, all others are state-owned-to-state-owned / local government-led / listed company integrations. The number of deals where VCs actually achieve "exit via acquisition" is fewer than 10.
Why: For mid-sized companies in the US$100–500 million value range, A-share / Hong Kong IPO valuations are high, so listing is still more attractive; only leading companies worth US$3 billion+, for which IPOs take too long → choose M&A exits.
Cross-wiki references
- Full industry overview:China Venture Capital 2026 H1 Panoramic Snapshot
- AI exit side:China AI / Frontier Technology Financing 2026 H1 Deep Dive - MiniMax IPO / Moonshot AI
- Healthcare exit side:China Healthcare Financing 2026 H1 Deep Dive - Terns US$6 billion M&A / Hong Kong 18A
- Crawling methodology:36Kr Pitchhub Crawling Methodology
Data limitations
- "Strategic financing" is a mixed tag that requires item-by-item review to separate out genuine M&A components
- The acquirer of Moonton Games was not explicitly stated in 36Kr reports and needs to be checked against overseas media
- A-share private placements (22 deals) are technically financing rather than exits, but due to their large amounts, some are listed
As of 2026-05-19, another round of data will be supplemented during the Q3 Hong Kong IPO peak season.