Fidelity halves valuation of Ant Group after Chinese crackdown: WSJ

[BENGALURU] US asset manager Fidelity Investments has cut its valuation of Ant Group in half in its latest filings assessing the worth of shares its funds hold in the Chinese financial technology giant, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The new valuation for the Jack Ma-founded company, the subject of a regulatory clampdown from Beijing that has halted its stock market flotation, was US$144 billion as at the end of February, according to regulatory filings cited by the WSJ.

That figure compares to an appraised value of US$295 billion as at the end of August. Fidelity was among a small group of global investors that bought into Ant three years ago.

Ant's initial public offering (IPO) was cancelled in spectacular fashion last November and Chinese regulators later ordered the enterprise to convert into a financial holding company, denting Ant's appeal in the eyes of investors.

In May 2018, Fidelity invested about US$238 million in Ant on behalf of various funds, the WSJ reported citing Ant's IPO prospectus, in a round that valued the company at about US$150 billion, higher than the US asset manager's current valuation of Ant.

Fidelity and Ant Group did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Reuters reported in March that some of Ant Group's global investors valued the Chinese company at over US$200 billion based on its 2020 performance, far below the US$315 billion it touted for in what was set to be the world's largest IPO.

REUTERS