Ping An’s OneConnect Expands U.S. IPO to Raise $312 Million

Ping An’s OneConnect Expands IPO to Raise $312 Million

(Bloomberg) -- China-based cloud fintech platform OneConnect Financial Technology Co. expanded its U.S. initial public offering to raise $312 million, partly reversing cuts to its share-sale plans disclosed one day ago.

The company, one of several Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. businesses backed by SoftBank Group Corp., sold 31.2 million American depositary shares for $10 each Thursday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. OneConnect is d in the listing at more than $3.6 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its filing.

OneConnect said in a filing Wednesday that it was cutting the shares it planned to sell to 26 million, as well as reducing the target range to $9 to $10 each. That would have raised only $260 million, barely half of its earlier target of $504 million.

OneConnect opted for a New York listing despite U.S.-China tensions. The company earlier considered a Hong Kong listing with a target of raising about $1 billion at a valuation of about $8 billion, Bloomberg reported in February.

The IPO followed Thursday’s signing by President Donald Trump on a phase-one trade deal with China, averting a new wave of U.S. tariffs that were set for Dec. 15.

OneConnect, backed by SoftBank’s Vision Fund, provides technology solutions that help increase revenue and manage risks for small and midsize financial institutions in China.

SoftBank has placed bets on companies under the state-linked insurer Ping An, as part of its play in combining technology and insurance. Last year, Vision Fund invested in Ping An Good Doctor and Ping An Healthcare Technology.

OneConnect had a net loss of $147 million on revenue of $218 million during the nine months ended Sept. 30, compared with an $82 million net loss on revenue of $128 million for the same period last year, its filings show. Since 2017, Ping An Group has extended to OneConnect more than $1 billion in loans with interest rates ranging from 4.55% to 7.3%.

The offering is being led by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Ping An Securities Group Holdings Ltd. OneConnect shares are expected to begin trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol OCFT.

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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