China Payment-Services Firm YeePay Is Said to Plan Hong Kong IPO

(Bloomberg) -- China’s YeePay, a payment-services provider backed by U.S. buyout firm TA Associates, is planning a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise about $200 million, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The Beijing-based company is working with advisers on the possible stock offering, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. It aims to list shares next year, according to one of the people.

YeePay, which works with Chinese airlines, tech companies and government agencies, has drawn investments from several prominent overseas firms since its founding about 15 years ago. TA Associates and Hong Kong-listed equipment lessor Far East Horizon Ltd. bought a stake in 2015. Silicon Valley firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Intel Capital China participated in the company’s 2006 funding round.

First-time share sales in Hong Kong have raised $23.8 billion this year, more than twice the $9.2 billion of deals during the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. YeePay did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

YeePay has more than one million merchant partners including Baidu Inc., JD.com Inc. and Air China Ltd., its website shows. It processes online payments including those made via Apple Pay and operates its own e-wallet system.

To contact the reporter on this story: Crystal Tse in Hong Kong at ctse44@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Scent at bscent@bloomberg.net, Timothy Sifert, Paul Panckhurst

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