China’s Ant Group could raise nearly £26.5bn in record share offering
26 October 2020, 14:04
The offering would surpass oil company Saudi Aramco’s £22.3 billion share sale last year.
China’s Ant Group will try to raise nearly £26.5 million in its initial public offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong, which would make it the largest share offering in history.
Alibaba-affiliated Ant Group, which operates a suite of financial products including the widely-used Alipay digital wallet in China and one of the world’s largest money market funds, will hold dual listings in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Its Shanghai stock was priced at 68.8 yuan (£7.87) each, while its Hong Kong stock is priced at 80 Hong Kong dollars apiece (£7.92), according to filings on Monday.
The company will raise around £26.5 billion from the share offering, which is expected to surpass oil company Saudi Aramco’s £22.3 billion share sale last year, making Ant Group’s offering the biggest in the world.
Ant Group would be valued at around £215 billion. If the company exercises its over-allotment option, which would allow it to sell more shares than initially planned, it could raise another £4 billion, taking its valuation to around £245 billion.
