Razer seeks US$550 million in Hong Kong IPO, with an eye on the world’s largest game market
The company, founded by Singapore entrepreneur Tan Min Liang, has among its cornerstone investors Hong Kong’s wealthiest man, the owners of Indonesia’s biggest cigarette maker, and a Macau casino magnate.
Razer, the equipment maker for computer gamers, backed by Intel and Hong Kong’s wealthiest man Li Ka-shing, has launched an initial public offering in the city, aiming to raise up to HK$4.3 billion (US$550 million) to fund its acquisitions and development of gaming verticals.
The company, based in Singapore and San Francisco, plans to offer 1.06 billion shares at an indicative price of between HK$2.93 and HK$4 per share, according to a prospectus. The stock is scheduled to trade for the first time on the Hong Kong stock exchange’s main board on November 13.
The stock offer puts Razer on the doorstep of the world’s largest market of smartphone users, where the revenue of computer and mobile games may grow 41 per cent to US$34.7 billion by 2021, according to the company’s presentation document.
Booming sales in China’s gaming market has already made Tencent Holdings one of Asia’s most valuable companies, where its blockbuster Honour of Kings and other titles contributed to 47 per cent of its 151.94 billion yuan (US$22.86 billion) in revenue last year. An estimated 80 million people - equivalent to the entire population of Germany - play Honour actively every day.
“We think the e-sports market has big growth potential,” said Solina Chau Hoi Shuen, founder of Li Ka-shing’s Horizon Ventures, the private equity investor with a 1.29 per cent stake in Razer. “Razer is not only the first mover in e-sports [to be listed in Hong Kong], but also a strong lifestyle brand.”
Chen Huaidan, also known as Celine Tang, the group managing director of Singapore real estate developer Singhaiyi Group, is also a keystone investor with US$50 million. Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono, the two brothers at the helm of Indonesia’s Djarum Group, which makes one of every five cigarettes smoked in the country, have agreed to invest US$33 million. Macau gambling magnate Loi Keong Kuong, who owns the Rio Casino in the territory, is also an investor at US$30 million.