China-based autonomous driving startup WeRide announced on Friday that it raised $440.5 million via an initial public offering in the U.S., alongside private placement. The company’s American Depository Shares (ADS) have been approved for listing and are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Friday.
What Happened: The initial public offering of the 7.7 million ADSs was priced at $15.5 to the public, or at the lower end of its targeted range, the company said, bringing the IPO proceeds to $120 million.
Certain investors have also agreed to purchase $320.5 million in shares from the company through price placements on the completion of the IPO, it added, taking the total amount raised to $440.5 million.
“The Company may raise total gross proceeds of approximately US$458.5 million in the initial public offering and the concurrent private placements, assuming the underwriters of the initial public offering fully exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs,” the company noted.
Morgan Stanley Asia Ltd., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Limited, ABCI Securities Company Limited, BNP Paribas Securities (Asia) Limited, and Tiger Brokers (NZ) Limited are acting as underwriters of WeRide’s IPO.
Why It Matters: WeRide, which commenced business in 2017, specializes in autonomous driving technologies and is testing and operating products in 30 cities and seven countries across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
For the first half of 2024, WeRide reported revenue of 150.3 million yuan ($20.97 million) and incurred a loss of 881.7 million yuan ($123.03 million), up from a loss of 723.1 million yuan ($100.9 million) reported in the corresponding period last year.
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Photo courtesy: WeRide
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