Smart Share Global Limited (EM)

Smart Share Global Limited was a Cayman Islands holding company that operated a mobile device charging business in China under the Energy Monster brand. It was founded in 2017 and headquartered in Shanghai. Its American depositary shares traded under the symbol EM, with each ADS representing two Class A ordinary shares.

The company rented portable power banks to consumers through cabinets placed in points of interest such as restaurants, entertainment venues, shopping centers, hotels, and transportation hubs. Users rented a power bank via a mobile application or mini-program and returned it to any cabinet in the network. The company also sold power banks and related products.

Smart Share depended on partnerships with location operators, who hosted the cabinets in return for a share of revenue. As of the end of 2021, it reported having deployed 5.7 million power banks across 845,000 points of interest in 1,700 counties and county-level districts. The network expanded rapidly in its early years and the company completed its initial public offering of ADSs in the United States in 2021.

Competition in the shared power bank market in China was intense, with several large players and many local operators, and the industry faced pricing pressure and a need for continuing investment in devices and locations. These conditions affected the market valuation of the company over several years and form the context for the going-private transaction.

The company entered into a definitive merger agreement for a going-private transaction. The buyer chain consisted of Mobile Charging Group Holdings Limited, its subsidiary Mobile Charging Investment Limited, and Mobile Charging Merger Limited, which merged with and into Smart Share. A law firm announcement described the transaction as a US$327 million going-private deal advised by a special committee of the board.

Under the merger agreement, holders received US$1.25 in cash per ADS, without interest and less applicable fees, and US$0.625 per ordinary share for holders of shares not represented by ADSs.

The company announced completion of the going-private transaction on April 29, 2026. ADS trading was to be suspended on April 30, 2026, and the company asked Nasdaq to file a Form 25 to delist the ADSs. After the closing, Smart Share became a privately held company.