China Youran Dairy Group is aiming to raise up to US$800 million in its Hong Kong IPO by pricing its shares at between HK$6.98 to HK$8.66 each. The dairy company, backed by private equity group PAG, will finalise the share price on Thursday before listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Jun 18, the filings showed. At the top of the range, the IPO will value China Youran at US$4.2 billion. The company plans to sell 715.43 million shares, with an option to sell a further 107.3 million shares. The deal includes just two cornerstone investors, Citic Prudential and Harvest Private Wealth, which have subscribed for a combined 6.94 per cent of the shares on offer.
The small cornerstone stake is unusual for a Hong Kong IPO where those investors typically lock in a higher percentage to ensure they get shares in the deal if the IPO is oversubscribed. CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings, which launched its Hong Kong IPO of up to US$400 million, has cornerstone investors for a stake of up to 64 per cent, according to its filings. In its prospectus, China Youran said it would use 75 per cent of the funds raised to build and buy new dairy farms, 15 per cent to buy dairy cattle stock and the remainder for working capital.