JD raises HK$27b in biggest Asia healthcare IPO

[HONG KONG] JD Health International raised HK$27 billion (S$4.66 billion) after pricing Asia's biggest healthcare initial public offering (IPO) at the top end of a marketed range.

The unit of Chinese e-commerce operator JD.com Inc priced its sale of 381.9 million shares at HK$70.58 apiece, according to terms for the deal obtained by Bloomberg. The company is due to start trading in Hong Kong on Dec. 8.

The IPO is also the largest of this year's first-time share sales in Hong Kong, excluding the second listing by JD Health's parent company in June, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It values the medical unit at US$28.5 billion, according to the terms.

The offering also surpasses the US$2.3 billion share sale by Japan's Otsuka Holdings a decade ago to be Asia's biggest listing in the healthcare sector, the data shows. The medical industry has seen a record wave of listings in Asia this year, spurred by strong investor demand amid the coronavirus pandemic.

JD Health is the largest online healthcare platform and online pharmacy by revenue in China, according to its prospectus. The company recorded revenues of 8.8 billion yuan (S$1.79 billion) for the first half of this year, up from five billion yuan for the same period a year earlier.

The company brought in six cornerstone investors for its IPO who agreed to subscribe for as much as US$1.35 billion of stock, including Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, Hillhouse Capital and BlackRock.

The company was marketing the shares at HK$62.80 to HK$70.58 each. Bank of America, Haitong International Securities Group and UBS Group are joint sponsors for JD Health's IPO.

BLOOMBERG