An exterior shot of a NetEase office in Hangzhou, China. Photo Credit: Raysonho
Chinese tech company and Tencent competitor NetEase is moving forward with plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on Hong Kong’s stock market.
NetEase officials announced the IPO’s details in an official release, which was shared with Digital Music News this morning.
As part of its international offering, NetEase will make 166.33 million new shares available to investors; their per-share value won’t exceed HK $126, per the press release, or $16.26. If the shares trade for this maximum price out of the gate, they’ll raise somewhere in the ballpark of $2.7 billion – a figure that’s subject to change based upon exchange-rate fluctuations and the stock’s debut price.
Additionally, it bears mentioning that some 5.15 million shares will make their way onto Hong Kong’s stock market initially, of the total 166.33 million shares that comprise the global offering. Based upon several factors, the Hong Kong offering could subsequently be upped to 20.58 million shares.
Finally, the international offering’s price will impact the total amount raised by the global IPO. According to the release once again: “The offer price for the International Offering tranche of the Offering (the “International Offer Price”) may be set at a level higher than the Hong Kong Offer Price.”
NetEase is expected to announce a final price for the Hong Kong IPO this Friday, June 5th, and the shares are reportedly set to become available for buying and selling on Thursday, June 11th.
At the time of this writing, NetEase’s US shares were up more than four percent on the day, to just over $414.30 apiece. The company is one of the few to have gained value since the domestic onset (and corresponding market shakeup) of the novel coronavirus; each of NetEase’s shares was worth about $310 at March’s start.
NetEase, which has developed a Chinese edition of Minecraft, is currently working on Diablo Immortal. The company’s music streaming service, NetEase Music, has secured ample additional funding and subscribers in recent years.