China trucking startup said to have raised US$1.6b in US IPO

Hong Kong

FULL Truck Alliance, an Uber-like trucking startup, has raised about US$1.6 billion after pricing shares in its US initial public offering at the top of a marketed range, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The company has priced 82.5 million American depositary shares at US$19 each, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Full Truck Alliance had been marketing 82.5 million ADSs at US$17 to US$19 apiece. One ADS represents 20 ordinary shares.

A representative for the company did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment.

Backed by investors including SoftBank Group and Tencent Holdings, Full Truck Alliance is on track to be one of the biggest US IPOs by a Chinese company this year, rivalling e-cigarette maker RLX Technology's US$1.6 billion listing in January.

There is an over-allotment option of as many as 12.4 million ADSs, meaning the startup could raise as much as US$1.8 billion in the IPO.

Full Truck Alliance, which operates a truck-sharing app that connects merchants that need shipping with truck drivers, will follow the successful debut of Kanzhun, the owner of Chinese online recruitment platform Boss Zhipin, which has doubled from its offering price since trading began on June 11.

A number of Chinese firms had put their US listing plans on hold last month amid weak investor demand and soggy trading. But Kanzhun and Full Truck Alliance seem to have kickstarted the pipeline back into gear.

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi filed earlier this month for a US IPO that could value it at as much as US$100 billion, Bloomberg News has reported, in what would be one of the world's largest listings this year.

Companies based in China and Hong Kong have raised US$8.6 billion in US IPOs so far in 2021, almost four times the amount a year ago, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

A top-of-the-range pricing will value Full Truck Alliance at US$20.6 billion, based on the outstanding shares listed in the prospectus. It notched a US$12 billion price tag in a US$1.7 billion funding round last year.

The Guiyang-based startup, known as Manbang in Chinese, was formed by a merger between China's two largest truck-sharing platforms - Huochebang and Yunmanman. Its other investors include Alphabet's CapitalG, Sequoia Capital China, Fidelity International and Jack Ma's Yunfeng Capital.

Full Truck Alliance intends to use the proceeds for investment in infrastructure development and technology innovation, expansion of service offerings and general corporate purposes including working capital needs and potential acquisitions and investments.

The offering is being led by Morgan Stanley, China International Capital and Goldman Sachs Group. The shares are expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. BLOOMBERG