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Chinese EV battery manufacturer CATL’s $4 billion bumper Hong Kong listing is drawing cornerstone commitments from some of the biggest names, including a GCC sovereign wealth fund.
CATL’s 117.9 million shares offering, at a maximum offer price of $263 Hong Kong dollar ($33.76) per share, also comes with an offer size adjustment option and a greenshoe option that could increase the size of the deal to $5.3 billion, making it the largest listing of the year.
The offering has already drawn a $500 million commitment from the Kuwait Investment Authority.
The sovereign wealth fund, with $923 billion assets under management, is one of the biggest cornerstone investors in the IPO, according to Hong Kong Stock Exchange filings.
Other significant commitments include a $500 million investment from China’s oil and gas giant Sinopec, $200 million from private equity firm Hillhouse Group’s HHLR, and $120 million from CICC Financial Trading Limited.
Prospectus data lists more than 20 cornerstone investors that have subscribed to buy about $2.62 billion worth of shares.
The shares are due to price between Tuesday and Friday, with the final price to be announced on or before May 19, exchange data showed. The shares will start trading from Mat 20 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
CATL has said about 90% of the proceeds raised, about HK$27.6 billion, would be spent on the construction of its planned Hungary factory.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)
