Evergrande-backed E-House attracts Alibaba to US$727m IPO

Hong Kong

ENTERPRISE Holdings Ltd, a real estate services firm backed by the country's biggest developers, is seeking as much as US$727 million in a Hong Kong initial public offering. The Shanghai-based company is offering 322.8 million shares at HK$14.38 to HK$17.68 apiece, according to terms for the deal obtained by Bloomberg. It will take investor orders from July 6 to July 13, with trading expected to start July 20, the terms show.

A unit of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd agreed to buy US$50 million of shares as one of the four cornerstone investors, according to the terms. China Evergrande Group, China Vanke Co and Country Garden Holdings Co each own 15 per cent of the company prior to the planned deal, a preliminary prospectus shows.

E-House, which was listed in New York until 2016, is preparing its Hong Kong debut amid a slump in the city's equity market, with the Hang Seng Index down about 15 per cent from its January all-time high. The deal would add to the US$12.3 billion of Hong Kong first-time share sales this year, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Overseas Chinese Town Asia Holdings Ltd agreed to buy about US$150 million of the deal as a cornerstone investor, while a firm affiliated with Henderson Land Development Co agreed to invest about US$38 million, the terms show. China International Capital Corp and Credit Suisse Group AG are joint sponsors for the IPO. BLOOMBERG