China-based smart electric vehicle developer Nio has appointed eight banks as underwriters for an initial public offering that will allow corporates including Tencent, Baidu and JD.com to exit, Reuters reported today.
Nio expects to raise between $1bn and $2bn in the offering, which will take place in the US, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The underwriters are Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan and UBS.
Founded in 2014 as NextEV, Nio is developing a seven-seater sports utility vehicle and a sports car, both of which will be equipped with an electric drivetrain, autonomous driving system and an in-car artificial intelligence system to control their functioning.
The IPO proceeds would fund improvements in the company’s autonomous driving and battery technology capabilities as well as expansion. It is expected to take place in the second half of 2018.
Nio last raised funding in a $1bn round in November 2017 that was led by internet group Tencent and backed by Lone Pine Capital, Citic Capital and Baillie Gifford at a valuation of about $5bn.
Tencent and fellow internet company Baidu had co-led an $87m round in March 2017 that included consumer electronics maker Lenovo, IDG Capital, TPG, Hillhouse Capital and GIC Private that valued Nio at $2.9bn, bringing its overall funding to roughly $1bn.
Tencent had joined e-commerce firm JD.com and Shunwei Capital to invest an undisclosed sum in Nio in 2015, before partnering Hillhouse, Sequoia Capital and Joy Capital for a $500m round later the same year.
Nio also raised an undisclosed amount in a mid-2016 round featuring Lenovo, TPG, Temasek and Hopu Investment Management.
– Image courtesy of Nio.