Stories of retail investors reaping substantial gains from ChiNext IPOs—such as making RMB 300,000 or even RMB 400,000 per lot from companies like Moore Threads and Muxi Semiconductor—highlight how the STAR Market’s registration-based reform has lowered barriers for startups seeking public listings. For instance, Moore Threads incurred total listing costs of just RMB 424 million for its STAR Market debut.

Yet, a year before Dreame Technology’s planned public offerings, its tech-focused founder Yu Hao and core team raised eyebrows by spending nearly RMB 2.28 billion to acquire Jiamei Packaging, a company specializing in food and beverage packaging.

Dreame has declined to comment on the rationale behind the acquisition or its potential connection to the firm’s IPO plans, though Yu’s listing ambitions are no secret. In September, Yu revealed that multiple businesses under the Dreame ecosystem would launch a wave of IPOs on exchanges worldwide starting from the end of 2026. Three months later, the RMB 2.28 billion acquisition of Jiamei Packaging—an uncharacteristic move for the tech company—sparked widespread speculation.

Jiamei Packaging primarily produces packaging for brands like Wanglaoji herbal tea and eight-treasure porridge, a far cry from Dreame’s core tech operations. Regulatory rules stipulate a 36-month supervision period following a change in corporate control, during which asset purchases by the acquirer face rigorous scrutiny. Jiamei Packaging has also announced it has no plans to shift its core business within the next 12 months—coinciding with the end of 2026, when Yu said Dreame’s various business segments would begin their IPO rollout.

Yu paid a significant premium for Jiamei Packaging. The tender offer price stood at RMB 4.45 per share, well above the company’s stock price range of RMB 2.5 to RMB 3.5 over the past four years. Compared to Moore Threads’ RMB 424 million listing costs, Yu’s acquisition represented an extra outlay of RMB 1.858 billion, leading many to question its cost-effectiveness if the goal was to secure a listing.

Moreover, the STAR Market has moved beyond traditional profit metrics, adopting “expected market value” as its core benchmark, complemented by indicators such as operating income, R&D investment ratio, and cash flow—creating a set of differentiated listing criteria. This enables unprofitable enterprises to go public, provided the market values their core technologies and growth prospects highly. So far this year, 17 new stocks have listed on the STAR Market, including unprofitable firms like Heyuan Biotech and Bibtree Biopharma.

Financially, Dreame shows no signs of needing Jiamei Packaging’s help for a listing. The company achieved a compound annual growth rate exceeding 100% between 2019 and 2023, with 2024 revenue reaching approximately RMB 15 billion. At its 2025 full-scenario product launch event, Dreame announced that its first-half 2025 operating income had already surpassed the total for the entire 2024 fiscal year. In terms of scale and growth, Dreame appears well-positioned to pursue a conventional IPO without relying on an acquisition.

Stories of retail investors reaping substantial gains from ChiNext IPOs—such as making RMB 300,000 or even RMB 400,000 per lot from companies like Moore Threads and Muxi Semiconductor—highlight how the STAR Market’s registration-based reform has lowered barriers for startups seeking public listings. For instance, Moore Threads incurred total listing costs of just RMB 424 million for its STAR Market debut.

Yet, a year before Dreame Technology’s planned public offerings, its tech-focused founder Yu Hao and core team raised eyebrows by spending nearly RMB 2.28 billion to acquire Jiamei Packaging, a company specializing in food and beverage packaging.

Dreame has declined to comment on the rationale behind the acquisition or its potential connection to the firm’s IPO plans, though Yu’s listing ambitions are no secret. In September, Yu revealed that multiple businesses under the Dreame ecosystem would launch a wave of IPOs on exchanges worldwide starting from the end of 2026. Three months later, the RMB 2.28 billion acquisition of Jiamei Packaging—an uncharacteristic move for the tech company—sparked widespread speculation.

Jiamei Packaging primarily produces packaging for brands like Wanglaoji herbal tea and eight-treasure porridge, a far cry from Dreame’s core tech operations. Regulatory rules stipulate a 36-month supervision period following a change in corporate control, during which asset purchases by the acquirer face rigorous scrutiny. Jiamei Packaging has also announced it has no plans to shift its core business within the next 12 months—coinciding with the end of 2026, when Yu said Dreame’s various business segments would begin their IPO rollout.

Yu paid a significant premium for Jiamei Packaging. The tender offer price stood at RMB 4.45 per share, well above the company’s stock price range of RMB 2.5 to RMB 3.5 over the past four years. Compared to Moore Threads’ RMB 424 million listing costs, Yu’s acquisition represented an extra outlay of RMB 1.858 billion, leading many to question its cost-effectiveness if the goal was to secure a listing.

Moreover, the STAR Market has moved beyond traditional profit metrics, adopting “expected market value” as its core benchmark, complemented by indicators such as operating income, R&D investment ratio, and cash flow—creating a set of differentiated listing criteria. This enables unprofitable enterprises to go public, provided the market values their core technologies and growth prospects highly. So far this year, 17 new stocks have listed on the STAR Market, including unprofitable firms like Heyuan Biotech and Bibtree Biopharma.

Financially, Dreame shows no signs of needing Jiamei Packaging’s help for a listing. The company achieved a compound annual growth rate exceeding 100% between 2019 and 2023, with 2024 revenue reaching approximately RMB 15 billion. At its 2025 full-scenario product launch event, Dreame announced that its first-half 2025 operating income had already surpassed the total for the entire 2024 fiscal year. In terms of scale and growth, Dreame appears well-positioned to pursue a conventional IPO without relying on an acquisition.