Tencent-backed travel site raises US$180m in Hong Kong IPO

[HONG KONG] Tongcheng-Elong Holdings Ltd, a Chinese travel website backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd, raised US$180 million after pricing its Hong Kong initial public offering near the bottom of a marketed range.

The Jiangsu-based company priced its sale of 143.8 million shares at HK$9.80 apiece, according to terms for the deal obtained by Bloomberg on Wednesday. The shares were offered at HK$9.75 to HK$12.65 each.

Tongcheng-Elong is completing its offering as another slump in global technology stocks threatens to derail a comeback in Hong Kong's equity market. The New York Stock Exchange's FANG+ index, which tracks technology and technology-powered consumer stocks, has fallen 7.5 per cent over the past three days to the lowest level since January.

Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co and CMB International Capital Ltd are joint sponsors of Tongcheng-Elong's listing. The company had slashed its fundraising goal from an original target of US$800 million to US$1 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said earlier.

Other Hong Kong IPOs have also struggled, with parenting website Babytree Group delaying the launch of its share sale last week by a day. Babytree, whose investors include Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, ended up raising US$217 million after pricing its IPO at the bottom of a marketed range, according to a message sent to investors on Wednesday.

BLOOMBERG