[ad_1]
Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. obtained approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for its initial public offering, overcoming a key hurdle as the Chinese fintech giant rushes to complete the sale ahead of the US election.
Ant received a letter from the exchange to proceed with the Hong Kong IPO, a person familiar with the matter said. The company must now complete a registration with Chinese regulators for the Shanghai part of the sale, a person familiar with it said. A representative for the company declined to comment. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange declined to comment in an emailed statement.
Once it has all the approvals, Ant will go on a tour of at least 3.5 days to offer the shares to investors, the people said. That may give you plenty of time to price the offer next week, before the US election, when some expect delays in the vote count to cause prolonged volatility in the market.
The Hangzhou-based company is seeking to raise $ 35 billion in the double listing, and about half will be raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, people familiar with the matter said. Ant’s IPO could be the largest in the world, surpassing Saudi Aramco’s record sale for $ 29 billion last year.
“It seems like a very good deal, so people still have great enthusiasm for this IPO,” Shawn Yang, Managing Director of Blue Lotus Capital Advisers he told Bloomberg TV, adding that the tension in the United States will not deter interest. “Investors are more focused on fundamental issues like growth and the competitive landscape. There are no obvious weaknesses for Ant at this time. “
The tech giant could have a The IPO valuation of at least $ 280 billion, familiar people have said, making it bigger than Bank of America Corp. and three times the size of Citigroup Inc.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which owns about a third of Ant, rose as much as 1.1% to HK $ 300.40 in Hong Kong, a record since it began trading there last year.
Hong Kong’s week-long gap between the price of an IPO and the start of trading means investors would be exposed to an increase in volatility if Ant does not complete the IPO before the November 3 vote in the United States.
People within the Trump administration are exploring possible bans on Ant, as well as his rival Tencent Holdings Ltd., out of concern that its digital payment platforms threaten US national security.
Ant will not seek so-called fundamental investors for Hong Kong, but will invite large sponsors to its Shanghai sale to mitigate price fluctuations, people familiar with it have said. The firm plans to issue new shares equivalent to 11-15% of its outstanding shares, the people added. The cornerstone investors, more common in Hong Kong than in other markets, are typically large institutions that agree to hold the shares for about six months in exchange for a sizeable allocation.
Ant chose China International Capital Corp., Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley to lead its Hong Kong offering. CICC and CSC Financial Co. leads the Shanghai leg of the IPO.
(Updates with details of the roadshow in the third paragraph)
