Its name implies glory, and for the last four years investors have been wondering when smartphone maker Honor – formerly part of tech giant Huawei – might finally seek such a spotlight in the financial world through an IPO.

That waiting and wondering game may finally be nearing an end, with news that Honor was transformed into a joint-stock limited company at the very end of last year, on Dec. 28 to be precise. With that critical step, the company formally changed its name to Honor Device Co. Ltd., according to an announcement on its website. Such shareholding reform is a necessary step before an IPO, and can often signal that one is coming soon.

It typically involves restructuring a company’s business, governance structure and finances and other elements, with the end result that the entity is organized as a joint stock company. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) mandates that any company issuing public shares to raise funds must be organized as a joint stock company first, and thus shareholding reform is a necessary step for companies to go public.