Weilong dusts off IPO plans

Weilong Delicious, a Chinese-based maker of spicy snacks, revived its IPO plans Monday, refiling its preliminary prospectus.

Why it matters: It's the latest in a series of snack-related deals announced in recent weeks, putting a spotlight on the food sector as recession concerns grow.

• Weilong could raise $500 million via a share offering sometime during the second half of the year, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.
• Mondelez acquired Clif Bar for $2.9 billion, while Kellogg and TreeHouse Foods were reported to be making moves to better focus on their own snack businesses.

Flashback: Weilong first filed for an IPO a little over a year ago, but joined several companies in shelving those plans later in 2021.

• The company has raised $552 million from investors including CPE, Hillhouse, Tencent and Yunfeng Capital, according to Reuters.
• The snack food business was originally given approval in November to proceed with its public debut by the Hong Kong stock exchange's listing committee, the South China Morning Post reported.

Of note: The prospectus comes at a time when Hong Kong listings have slowed due to worries over inflation, rate hikes and a potential recession.

• The Chinese government's technology crackdown was also cited as a cause of the slowdown, per SCMP.