China’s CATL has picked banks for US$5b Swiss GDR sale: sources

CONTEMPORARY Amperex Technology (CATL), the world’s biggest maker of batteries for electric cars, has chosen banks for its sale of global depositary receipts (GDR) in Switzerland to raise at least US$5 billion, sources said.

The Chinese giant is working with China International Capital and China Securities International on the share sale, the sources said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. CATL has also picked Goldman Sachs and UBS for the GDR sale, they said.

The listing could happen as soon as this year, said one source. Deliberations are ongoing, and details of the GDR sale could still change, they said.

Representatives for CICC, Goldman Sachs and UBS declined to comment, while CATL and China Securities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

CATL would be joining other Chinese companies in tapping the European market, as lingering geopolitical risks and regulatory woes reduce the appeal of other offshore markets such as the US. At US$5 billion, the GDR would be the biggest such issuance by a Chinese company, as indicated by data compiled by Bloomberg. The International Financing Review first reported the Swiss listing plans.

CATL accounts for the largest share of the global electric-vehicle (EV) battery market, data from Seoul-based SNE Research showed. It sold a total of 165.7 GWh of batteries between January and November 2022, almost three times as much as second-placed BYD, a Chinese carmaker that also manufactures batteries.

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CATL’s market share was about 35 per cent in the first 10 months of last year. The Fujian-based company supplies carmakers including Volkswagen, Geely and Nissan. It also supplies to Tesla, which delivered fewer EVs than expected last quarter, despite offering some price cuts. 

In 2017, CATL raised about US$822 million in an initial public offering in Shenzhen. The company raised another 45 billion yuan (S$8.8 billion) in a private share placement last year. China Securities was the lead sponsor, while CICC, Goldman Sachs and UBS were among the co-lead underwriters.

Shares of CATL have fallen about 18 per cent in the past year, with the company valued at about S$172 billion. BLOOMBERG