Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li’s FWD Group Holdings Ltd. is elevating greater than $1.4 billion from traders to pay down debt forward of a deliberate multibillion-dollar preliminary public providing.
FWD mentioned Tuesday it might elevate $1.425 billion from new and present traders this month by issuing new shares. The fundraising values the Hong Kong-based firm at about $9 billion after together with the brand new cash, and assumes a pre-IPO low cost for liquidity dangers, in keeping with an individual with information of the deal.
Quick-growing FWD is cooling on plans to record in New York, partly due to rising tensions between Washington and Beijing which are weighing on Chinese language corporations listed within the U.S., the individual mentioned. FWD stays open to the potential of a U.S. itemizing, however now favors its residence base of Hong Kong, the individual added.
The deal proceeds will assist FWD deleverage earlier than it goes public, permitting it to make use of its itemizing proceeds for growth-related investments, the individual mentioned.
The fundraising consists of cash from new and present FWD traders together with U.S. funding big
Apollo International Administration Inc.,
Swiss Re AG
, Canada Pension Plan Funding Board,
Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
of the Philippines and Thailand’s
Siam Industrial Financial institution
PCL.
Li Ka Shing Basis, the place Mr. Li is a board director, and Mr. Li’s private-investment firm, Pacific Century Group Holdings Ltd., invested as properly, FWD mentioned.
FWD is in search of to develop its enterprise in nations throughout Asia, tapping right into a market that has given rise to a few of the world’s most useful insurers, together with Hong Kong-listed AIA Group Ltd., which is valued at about $126 billion, in keeping with S&P International Market Intelligence.
On Tuesday, FWD highlighted its worth of latest enterprise, saying it grew 45% year-over-year within the first half of 2021, and 21% year-over-year within the third quarter. The metric is a key measure of profitability.
FWD is the insurance coverage enterprise of Mr. Li’s Pacific Century Group. It was based in 2013 when it acquired Asian belongings from
ING Groep,
and has since grown throughout Asia. It entered Malaysia in 2019 and Cambodia in 2020. Final yr, it purchased companies in Vietnam, Indonesia and Hong Kong.
Write to Ben Otto at ben.otto@wsj.com
Copyright ©2021 Dow Jones & Firm, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared within the December 15, 2021, print version as ‘Insurer FWD to Elevate Extra Than $1.4 Billion.’
