New World Development and China Mobile-backed gay social and dating app developer Blued raised $84.8m and has seen its shares nearly double in price post-IPO.

BlueCity Holdings, the China-based owner of gay dating app Blued, floated in an $84.8m initial public offering on Wednesday enabling corporates New World Development and China Mobile Games and Entertainment to exit.

The company priced 5.3 million American depositary shares (ADSs), each representing two common shares, at $16.00 each, at the mid-point of the IPO’s $15 to $17 range. Its shares closed at $25.99 on the Nasdaq Global Market yesterday, valuing it at approximately $462m.

Blued’s gay dating and…

Robert Lavine

Robert Lavine is special features editor for Global Venturing.