China-based online insurance provider ZhongAn has filed for a $1.5bn initial public offering in Hong Kong that will provide exits to corporates Alibaba, Ping An and Tencent, International Financing Review reported today.
ZhongAn was formed in 2013 by internet group Tencent and insurance firm Ping An, which each hold a 12% share of the company, and e-commerce company Alibaba, which owns a 16% stake through its Ant Financial affiliate.
The company offers more than 300 insurance products through its online platform, but about half its business comes through insurance bought to cover the return of e-commerce products. Plans that compensate for flight delays are also popular.
Hong Kong was chosen as the venue for the IPO due to uncertainty over approval for the offering in China, a person familiar with the plans had already told Reuters.
ZhongAn plans to sell a stake worth 5% to 10%, the South China Morning Post had reported earlier, and it intends to float before the end of 2017 .
In addition to Tencent, Alibaba and Ping An, other ZhongAn shareholders include investment banking firm Morgan Stanley, China International Capital, CDH Investments and Keywise Capital Management, all of which took part in a $934m round in 2015 that valued the company at $8bn, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In March, Zhong An was reportedly planning to sell 5% to 10% of the company to a couple of strategic investors, to raise up to RMB10bn ($1.45bn), ahead of an planned initial public offering in mainland China, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter.