PPdai, a China-based online lending marketplace backed by trading and technology firm Susquehanna International Group (SIG), raised $221m when it floated on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.
The company issued 17 million American depositary shares (ADSs) priced at $13.00 each, below the $16 to $19 range it had previously set. Investment manager Sun Hung Kai & Co bought another $50m of shares to take the total amount raised to $271m.
Also known as Paipaidai, PPdai runs an online consumer loans marketplace with more than 48 million registered users as of the end of June this year. It targets borrowers between 20 and 40 years of age that are underserved by traditional lenders, and who are more receptive to online activities.
The company intends to put roughly $50m of the proceeds into strategic investments or acquisitions that can benefit its business, while the remaining cash will be used for general corporate purposes.
SIG subsidiary SIG Asia co-led PPdai’s last funding round, a $100m series C in 2015 co-led by Legend Capital, the venture capital firm formed by conglomerate Legend Holdings, and backed by VMS Legend Investment Fund I and VC firms Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Sequoia Capital supplied $25m in funding for PPdai in 2012. PPdai has not disclosed how much it raised in its 2014 series B round, which was led by Lightspeed with participation from Sequoia and wealth management firm Noah Private Wealth Management.
SIG held a 6.5% stake in PPdai through its China Investments Master Fund III vehicle that was diluted to 6% in the offering. The company’s largest external shareholder is Sequoia, the owner of a 25.5% stake that was cut to 23.8%.
Other notable investors in PPdai include Lightspeed (9.7% post-IPO), limited partnership vehicle Beijing Junlian Maolin Equity Investment (6.4%) and VMS Legend Investment (1%).
Credit Suisse Securities and Citigroup Global Markets are lead bookrunners for the IPO while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods is joint bookrunner. They have a 30-day option to buy a further 2.55 million ADSs, which would lift the size of the offering to approximately $254m.
PPdai’s shares opened at $13.30 on Friday morning and were at $13.15 at the end of trading yesterday. Its fortunes are in contrast to those of rival Qudian, which floated above its range on the NYSE last month to raise $900m in its IPO.