Horizon Robotics, a Chinese provider of software and hardware used in autonomous driving systems, is aiming to raise as much as HK$5.4 billion ($910 million) in its Hong Kong initial public offering, in one of the city’s most sizeable deals this year.
The company, backed by Intel, is selling 1.36 billion shares at HK$3.73 to HK$3.99 each, according to its listing document dated Wednesday. It will start taking orders Wednesday, and shares are due to start trading Oct 24.
Cornerstone investors, which commit to hold shares for at least six months, have agreed to buy about US$220 million ($287.84 million) of Horizon Robotics stock in the offering. The company said the cornerstones include units of Alibaba Group Holding and Baidu, as well as a fund tied to the government of the Chinese city of Ningbo, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report.
Horizon Robotics’ IPO is now set to raise more than initially reported, in a positive signal to investors who have seen IPOs dry up during China’s economic downturn. The company joins other Chinese firms that are testing the mood of Hong Kong’s IPO scene after a recent rally in the country’s shares.
Founded in 2015, Horizon Robotics is controlled by Kai Yu, an artificial-intelligence scientist who used to work at Baidu and was instrumental in its push into autonomous driving.
Chinese companies related to autonomous driving that are gearing up to go public include Pony.ai, which has gotten approval from China for its US listing, and Shanghai Westwell Lab Information Technology, which Bloomberg News in August reported was eyeing a raise of as much as US$100 million in Hong Kong.
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However, the market hasn’t been completely smooth for such companies. In August, shares of Black Sesame International Holding, which specialises in chips used in autonomous-driving systems, slumped on their debut. They’re still down about 8% from their IPO price.
Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley and China Securities International are joint sponsors of the Horizon Robotics IPO.
