HONG KONG--Broadband-services provider HKBN Ltd. raised US$750
million after pricing its Hong Kong initial public offering at the
top end of the price range, people familiar with the situation said
Thursday, making it the largest IPO in the city this year.
Private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners and other shareholders,
including Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd., sold 645
million shares at 9 Hong Kong dollars (US$1.16) each, at the top
end of an indicative price range of HK$8-HK$9, the people said.
CVC will hold about a 14.4% stake in HKBN after listing,
compared with 70.7% currently, if no overallotment option is
exercised, while GIC will hold a 9.9% stake, down from 11.3%. The
firm is scheduled to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on March
12.
Before the start of taking orders from institutional investors
on Feb. 24, more than a quarter of the offering had been presold to
the cornerstone investor, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board,
which agreed to buy and hold the shares for six months. The
Canadian pension fund has bought around US$200 million in HKBN.
The offering is the largest in Hong Kong this year and one of
the biggest in Asia, after the US$1.7 billion February listing by
Jasmine Broadband Internet Growth Infrastructure Fund in
Bangkok.
Hong Kong, usually a powerhouse for big China listings, has had
a slow start this year, with just US$291 million raised in IPOs,
according to Dealogic, compared with US$4.1 billion in the same
period last year.
Goldman Sachs Group, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and UBS AG are
the lead banks for the transaction.
Write to Prudence Ho at prudence.ho@wsj.com
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