Kuaishou’s US$6 billion IPO attracts BlackRock, Abu Dhabi, Canadian Pension Fund among 10 cornerstone investors

Kuaishou plans to set aside almost US$2.5 billion of stock in its forthcoming IPO for about 10 cornerstone investors, according to people familiar with the plan

BlackRock, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Capital Group, and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board are among the major funds in talks to buy the stock, people said

Reading Time:2 minutes

Video-streaming app Kuaishou is pictured on a mobile phone in this illustration picture taken January 25, 2018. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:54pm, 23 Jan 2021Updated: 4:28pm, 24 Jan 2021

Corrected [4:28pm, 24 Jan, 2021]

[4:28pm, 24 Jan, 2021]
Corrects IPO size in main headline

Kuaishou Technology, the Chinese short-video start-up, has attracted BlackRock and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority as cornerstone investors in its Hong Kong initial public offering, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Capital Group and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) also committed to buy stock in the offering, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Kuaishou is targeting to raise as much as US$6 billion from the share sale, which is set to start taking orders as soon as Monday, the people said.

The company plans to set aside almost US$2.5 billion of IPO stock for about 10 cornerstone investors, the people said. Fidelity, Chinese buyout firm Boyu Capital, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Invesco’s Oppenheimer fund arm also agreed to purchase shares, they said. Singapore state investment firms GIC and Temasek Holdings separately plan to participate in the offering, according to the people.

Kuaishou is attempting the world’s biggest internet IPO since Uber Technologies’ US$8.1 billion share sale in May 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Chinese company, whose name means “fast hand,” is the main domestic rival to TikTok owner ByteDance.

The app established its popularity among users in smaller cities and the countryside, with people streaming slices of everyday life from harvesting corn to slurping noodles. Kuaishou has since expanded to audiences in bigger metropolitan areas, hosting content ranging from people playing video games to teenagers lip-synching pop songs.

Cornerstone buyers typically agree to hold stock for a set period of time in exchange for early, guaranteed allocation. Kuaishou is still finalising terms of the offering, and details could change, the people said.