Chinese Fintech Company Lufax Seeks Up to $2.4 Billion in U.S. IPO
It could potentially be the biggest Chinese IPO in the U.S. since Alibaba’s debut
Lufax Holding Ltd., a smaller rival to Chinese financial-technology giant Ant Group Co., is seeking to raise as much as $2.4 billion from an initial public offering in the U.S.
The deal is likely to put a substantially lower value on Lufax—which has reinvented itself after China cracked down on peer-to-peer lending, once a key business line—than a private fundraising last year.
Lufax, which operates online lending and investment platforms, aims to sell 175 million American depositary shares in a range of $11.50 to $13.50 each, according to a filing Thursday. That implies a market value of $28.1 billion to $32.9 billion, based on the postdeal share count in its listing prospectus.
In early 2019 it was valued at $39.4 billion after raising $1.4 billion of new funds, according to filings by Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., a major shareholder in the company.
Banks underwriting the deal have the option to increase its size by 15%. Depending on where it prices, if the banks exercise that option this could be the biggest Chinese IPO in the U.S. since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ’s $25 billion debut in 2014, Dealogic data shows. The next-largest such share sale was by KE Holdings Inc., an online real-estate brokerage that went public in August and raised $2.44 billion.
The stock sale comes as Ant prepares to list in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Lufax’s targeted valuation reflects heightened volatility in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 3, and its desire to ensure a good secondary-market performance for its shares, a person familiar with the matter said. The deal is likely to price on Oct. 29 and start trading a day later, this person said. Lufax’s stock ticker is LU.