Midea raises US$4 billion in upsized Hong Kong listing

CHINESE appliance giant Midea Group raised US$4 billion in its Hong Kong listing in an enlarged deal that was priced at the top of the marketed range, in a show of demand for the city’s biggest share sale in over three years.

The Foshan, China-based company sold shares at HK$54.80 apiece, according to terms of the deal obtained by Bloomberg. The listing is scheduled to take place in Hong Kong on Tuesday (Sep 17). Midea sold 566 million shares after exercising an option to boost the size of the offering due to strong demand, the terms showed, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report.

The deal size could be increased to US$4.6 billion later on if an overallotment option is exercised. Cornerstone investors, who commit to keeping shares for at least six months, have agreed to buy US$1.26 billion in Midea stock, amounting to more than a third of the offering. They include a subsidiary of container-shipping company Cosco Shipping and a unit of UBS Asset Management.

Midea had planned to offer 492.1 million shares at HK$52 to HK$54.80 a piece, according to its listing document dated Monday.

Order books were multiple times oversubscribed and closed a day earlier than planned, people familiar with the matter had said.

Alternative asset manager Hillhouse Investment and Singaporean state investors GIC and Temasek had been considering investing in Midea’s listing, Bloomberg News reported.

At US$4 billion, Midea’s listing will be Hong Kong’s biggest debut since Kuaishou Technology’s US$6.2 billion listing in early 2021. Midea, at the top end of the price range, would be offering a roughly 20 per cent valuation discount to its shares in Shenzhen before the deal launched. BLOOMBERG