Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate of China-based e-commerce group Alibaba, intends to seek a valuation of more than $200bn in an initial public offering in Hong Kong, Reuters reported today.
The company has been working with advisers for months on the offering and it could take place as soon as this year, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter, one of whom told Reuters it is considering selling a 5% to 10% share through the IPO.
Formed by Alibaba in 2014, Ant Financial’s properties include online payment platform Alipay, wealth management service Ant Fortune, online lender MyBank and Zhima Credit, the credit scoring and loyalty system formerly known as Sesame Credit.
The IPO was initially set to take place as a dual listing in Hong Kong and mainland China, but Ant Financial now favours Hong Kong solely, as it would represent a smoother listing process, according to Reuters’ sources.
China’s National Social Security Fund and financial services firms Postal Savings Bank of China and China Development Bank agreed to invest an undisclosed amount in Ant in early 2015 at a reported $30bn valuation.
The company subsequently closed an undisclosed amount of series A funding from investors including the government’s National Council for Social Security Fund and unnamed insurance providers later the same year at a valuation reportedly between $45bn and $50bn.
Insurance firm China Life and China Post Capital, a subsidiary of postal service China Post, joined China Investment Corp, Primavera Capital Group, China Development Bank Capital and China Construction Bank’s CCB Trust unit to provide $4.5bn in series B funding in 2016 at a valuation of about $60bn.
Ant was reportedly valued at $150bn in a $14bn series C round in mid-2018 featuring GIC, Primavera Capital, Temasek, Warburg Pincus, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Silver Lake, General Atlantic, Carlyle Group, Janchor Partners, Discovery Capital Management, Baillie Gifford, Khazanah Nasional and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price.
