China Tower prices IPO at bottom of price range after weak retail interest, raising US$6.9 billion
At HK$1.26 a share, the world’s largest telecoms tower operator commands a market valuation of US$28 billion
China Tower has priced its initial public offering at the bottom of the indicative price range, raising HK$54.3 billion (US$6.9 billion) amid lukewarm retail investor interests, according to several people familiar with the deal.
The world’s largest telecoms tower operator has sold 25 per cent of an enlarged share capital at HK$1.26 a share. The top of the price range was HK$1.58, a level which would have seen the company raising as much as HK$64.1 billion.
At HK$1.26 a share, China Tower operator would command a market valuation of HK$217.3 billion.
Its retail offering of around 2.16 billion shares – a modest retail book by value – was only just oversubscribed, as individual buyers placed orders worth about HK$4.5 billion, according to preliminary figures from people close to the transaction. The number could be subject to minor adjustments before final calculations were completed. The final tally will be announced next Tuesday, with the stock to start trading on August 8.
The international placement tranche was overbought by multiple times, according to the people.
Yet, compared with the mega IPOs in the past few years, overall response to China Tower’s listing would be seen as weak. In 2016, the global offering of the Postal Savings Bank raised US$7.4 billion and attracted retail orders worth HK$8.3 billion, representing an oversubscription of 1.6 times.