Blue Moon raises US$1.27b in Hong Kong IPO: sources

[HONG KONG] Chinese detergent maker Blue Moon Group Holdings will raise US$1.27 billion in its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) after pricing its shares at HK$13.16, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The price was at the top of the HK$10.20 to HK$13.16 flagged by the company when the deal launched last Friday, according to a term sheet.

The sources could not be identified as the information had not yet been made public.

Blue Moon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Blue Moon, backed by private equity group Hillhouse Capital, sold 747.1 million shares in the deal which gives the company a market capitalisation of up to nearly US$10 billion.

Hillhouse will exercise some its anti dilution subscription option to maintain its stake at 9.3 per cent, the term sheet showed.

A further 112 million shares can be sold as part of a so-called greenshoe option within the next 30 days.

Six cornerstone investors led by Veritas Asset Management, the British investment fund, have taken a US$235 million in the Blue Moon deal that accounts for nearly 21 per cent of the IPO, according to the term sheet.

Blue Moon's prospectus showed its net profit for the first half of 2020 reached HK$302 million (S$52.1 million), up nearly 40 per cent from the same time the previous year.

The company plans to spend more than half of the IPO proceeds on building up its sales and distribution networks and a third of the money raised in expanding its production capacity, according to its prospectus.

REUTERS