Gold Cattle, Honglong tap strategic investors

ABN Amro, China Everbright bring in up to HK$800m before share sales

Mainland rancher Xinjiang Gold Cattle Bio and developer Honglong Property brought in strategic investors for a combined HK$700 million to HK$800 million before their planned Hong Kong initial public offerings later this year in a bid to boost the money they will raise and increase the attractiveness of the deals to other investors, sources said.

Gold Cattle sold shares to Hong Kong-listed China Everbright, Dutch financial services group ABN Amro and other funds in August through a private placement, raising a combined US$24 million, although the size of the stake they will hold is not clear, a person familiar with the deal said.

ABN Amro took the largest slice for US$14 million while state-backed financial services group China Everbright bought US$4.5 million worth of shares with other funds picking up the remainder, he said.

Separately, US investment bank Lehman Brothers bought US$20 million worth of shares in Honglong, the biggest operator of the 19,832-square-metre Shenzhen Honglong Plaza in Baoan, before the Shenzhen-based developer's planned initial public offering, another source said.

Sources said Gold Cattle and Honglong have submitted their listing applications to the Hong Kong stock exchange and hope to sell shares by the end of this year or early next year.