Tencent unit raises US$1.1b after pricing Hong Kong IPO at top end

[HONG KONG] China Literature, China's No.1 online publisher, and some of its existing shareholders are set to raise a combined HK$8.33 billion (S$1.5 billion), after pricing its Hong Kong public offering at top of the indicative range, the IFR reported.

The Chinese publishing and e-book company, majority owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd, priced its IPO at the top end of the HK$48-HK$55 indicative range, the Thomson Reuters publication reported on Wednesday, citing people close to the deal.

Tencent owns a 62 per cent stake in China Literature, while private equity firm Carlyle Group LP holds 12.2 per cent and Trustbridge Partners, a PE firm founded by Shujun Li, the former CFO of Shanda Interactive, holds 6 per cent.

China Literature is expected to make its market debut on Nov 8, the IFR reported.

Reuters reported last week 151.37 million shares were being offered in the IPO and the new shares will be equivalent to 16.7 per cent of China Literature's enlarged share capital with its market value expected to be up to US$6.4 billion.

China Literature has a business akin to Amazon.com Inc's Kindle Store, operating a platform with 9.6 million literary works from 6.4 million authors.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley were hired as sponsors for the IPO, with China International Capital Corp Ltd (CICC) and JPMorgan also working as joint global coordinators.

REUTERS