So high is demand for shares in Alibaba’s fintech unit Ant Group that the company has decided to finish its institutional book-building process in Hong Kong a day earlier than planned.
Why it matters: Through dual listings in Shanghai and Hong Kong, announced in July, Ant Group is looking to raise $34.4 billion. This would make it the biggest public offering in history, bigger than parent company Alibaba’s listing in 2014 and Aramco’s in 2019.
Details: The company will close its Hong Kong books at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, a day earlier than planned.
- During the book-building process, underwriters invite institutional investors to bid for the number and price of shares they are willing to purchase. After collecting this information, underwriters set the cutoff price for the listing.
- Ant announced the pricing and date of its initial public offering (IPO) in regulatory filings made public yesterday.
- The Alibaba affiliate will sell 1.67 billion shares in each of the two bourses, roughly priced at $10 apiece. Shares sold in Shanghai will start at RMB 68.8, and at HKD 80 in Hong Kong.
- Ant Group declined to comment on this story.
Context: Soon after announcing its IPO plans, Ant revealed robust financial performance in 2020.
- In first half of 2020, revenues rose 38% year on year and profits rose almost 20% in the same time period.
READ MORE: Ant Group IPO filings: five key takeaways