China-based wealth management firm Jupai is in the process of raising $22.9m in funding from media company Sina and private banking group Julius Bär, China Money Network reported on Thursday.
Sina committed to acquiring 2.88 million ordinary shares for a 4.99% stake, investing $5.3m through its subsidiary Sina Hong Kong. Julius Bär, through its subsidiary Julius Bär Investment, will purchase 9.59 million shares for $17.5m, boosting its stake from 10% to 11.53%.
The deal is expected to close this month.
Founded in 2010, Jupai offers wealth management services to individuals, businesses and institutional investors located in China. The firm operates a range of funds, such as a real-estate investment fund.
Jupai completed a $53m initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2015. Sina owned an 11% stake in Jupai at the time through its Hong Kong subsidiary, which was diluted to 7.3%.
The flotation also provided an exit to investors including real-estate services provider E-House China, which invested an undisclosed sum in 2013 and merged its asset management business unit into Jupai in April 2015. E-House held a 31.4% stake post-IPO.
Jianda Ni, co-chairman of the board of directors and chief executive of Jupai, said: “We expect the co-operation between our two companies will further diversify Jupai’s product categories and add more overseas financial products to our existing product lines, allowing us to better meet the demand for overseas asset allocation among Jupai’s clients.
“In addition, Julius Bär’s valuable experience in the wealth management industry will help to further improve the expertise of Jupai’s financial advisors.”