(Bloomberg) -- Chinese snack maker Weilong Delicious Global Holdings Ltd. is weighing kicking off its long-awaited Hong Kong initial public offering, which could raise about $500 million, as soon as October, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company could seek stock exchange approval by the end of this month and start gauging investor demand afterward, said one of the people, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Weilong, which refiled a preliminary prospectus in June, is seeking a valuation of about $4.7 billion in the listing, the people said. 

Deliberations are ongoing and details of the IPO’s size and timing could still change, the people said. A representative for Weilong declined to comment.

Founded in 2001, Weilong is most famous for its spicy stick snacks and also provides fodder for online memes in China. Top actress Yang Mi is among its brand ambassadors.

Weilong has raised about $660 million before the IPO from investors including Hillhouse Capital and Tencent Holdings Ltd. The company first filed for a Hong Kong listing, which could have raised as much as $1 billion, in May 2021.

Hong Kong’s equity capital market has been mostly muted since the second half of 2021, though activity is picking up this summer with China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp.’s $2.1 billion listing, while several $1 billion offerings could be on the way.

Morgan Stanley, China International Capital Corp. and UBS Group AG are joint sponsors of Weilong’s listing, according to the prospectus.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.