China’s Midea moves ahead with Hong Kong’s likely biggest listing this year
Chinese appliance maker Midea Group has started taking orders from investors for an initial public offering to raise up to US$3.46 billion, which, if successful, would be the biggest such fundraising deal in Hong Kong this year. Foshan-based Midea is selling a total of 492.14 million shares at a price range of HK$52.00-HK$54.80, equivalent to US$6.67-US$7.03 a share, Midea said in a filing Monday. At the top end of the range, the IPO size would be US$3.46 billion and surpass tea shop giant Sichuan Baicha Baidao Industrial’s around US$315 million listing in April.
Midea, founded in 1968 by He Xiangjian, was the world’s largest appliance company by sales in 2023. It owns brands including Midea, Colmo and Little Swan, and acquired Japanese giant Toshiba’s home-appliance business in 2016. The company’s first-half net profit rose 14% to 20.80 billion yuan, equivalent to around US$2.93 billion, as revenue gained 10% to 217.27 billion yuan.
Midea, whose shares are already trading on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, has more than 35% of its Hong Kong offering covered by cornerstone investors that have committed to taking up US$1.26 billion worth of shares ahead of the listing. Having cornerstone investors helps companies better market their shares to institutional and retail investors. Some of Media’s cornerstone investors include BYD, Boyu, Cosco Shipping and UBS Asset Management.
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