Chinese healthcare services firm Alibaba Health Information Technology (0241.HK) has raised nearly US$1.3 billion ($1.78 billion) in Hong Kong’s largest follow-on share sale in five years, according to a statement from the company on Wednesday.
The company will issue 499 million new shares priced at HK$20.05 ($3.55) apiece, an 8% discount to the stock’s HK$21.80 closing price on the Hong Kong exchange on Tuesday.
The final price was at the low end of the flagged HK$20.05 to HK$20.50 range when the deal was launched earlier on Tuesday.
Alibaba Health, an arm of internet retail giant Alibaba Group (BABA.N), said the cash would be used to develop the company’s pharmaceutical e-commerce business, which has benefited from the growth of the online service sector during the coronavirus pandemic this year.
The transaction was the largest follow-on share sale on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 2015, and the biggest ever health care deal, according to a term sheet reviewed by Reuters.
The size of the deal was increased by 25% during the institutional bookbuild overnight following high demand from investors.
