(Yicai Global) June 4 -- Chinese online food retailer Three Squirrels wants to raise CNY1.4 billion (USD208 million) via an initial public offering on Shenzhen's main board next week after a lengthy registration process.

The Anhui province-based firm will issue 41 million shares on June 12, according to a prospectus published today. The document did not disclose a specific share price but said the company wanted enough cash to cover marketing plans, supply chain upgrades and enhancements to its logistics and packaging systems. If it fails to raise the CNY1.4 billion, it will fill in the gap with bank loans or alternative financing.

Three Squirrels initially applied to raise CNY560 million on the ChiNext board for growth startups early in 2017, but the China Food and Drug Administration found excess levels of mold in a batch of the firm's pistachio nuts in August that year.

In October 2017, the CFDA confiscated CNY2,506 (USD363) in illegal earnings and fined the company CNY50,000 for the gaffe. Three Squirrel's lawyer behind the application promptly resigned, causing the firm to suspend its application until Oct. 31, but the regulator suspended its review less than two months later due to issues with the company's production strategy, which involved hiring third-party producer to keep up with surging demand.

The firm re-submitted its application in June 2018 and got the green light to list last month.

Three Squirrels forecasts net profit attributable to its parent company this half will rise between 23.5 percent and 45.1 percent to as much as CNY296 million, with revenue rising between 26.4 percent and 39 percent to near CNY4.5 billion. In all of last year, profit rose just 0.6 percent to CNY304 million while total income jumped 26 percent to CNY7 billion.

Zhang Liaoyuan, who founded the company in 2012, has a 45.4 percent stake and is its largest shareholder, the prospectus shows. The firm was the first to position itself as a purely web-based food label.

Editor: James Boynton