(Bloomberg) -- Horizon Robotics, a Chinese provider of software and hardware used in autonomous driving systems, is aiming to raise as much as HK$5.4 billion ($696 million) in its Hong Kong initial public offering, in one of the city’s most sizable deals this year.
The company, backed by Intel Corp., is selling 1.36 billion shares at HK$3.73 to HK$3.99 each, according to its listing document dated Wednesday.
Order books were covered shortly after the company started taking investor orders Wednesday, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified to discuss private information. Horizon Robotics declined to comment. Shares are due to start trading Oct. 24.
Cornerstone investors, which commit to hold shares for at least six months, have agreed to buy about $220 million of Horizon Robotics stock in the offering. The company said the cornerstones include units of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc., as well as a fund tied to the government of the Chinese city of Ningbo, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report.
Horizon Robotics’ IPO is now set to raise more than initially reported, in a positive signal to investors who have seen IPOs dry up during China’s economic downturn. The company joins other Chinese firms that are testing the mood of Hong Kong’s IPO scene after a recent rally in the country’s shares.
The IPO also comes after Chinese appliance maker Midea Group Co.’s $4.6 billion share sale in Hong Kong that provided an optimistic backdrop for other deals. This week, bottled-water company China Resources Beverage Holdings Co. is also taking investor orders to raise as much as $649 million in its Hong Kong IPO, with shares to be listed Oct. 23.
Founded in 2015, Horizon Robotics is controlled by Kai Yu, an artificial-intelligence scientist who used to work at Baidu and was instrumental in its push into autonomous driving.
Chinese companies related to autonomous driving that are gearing up to go public include Pony.ai, which has gotten approval from China for its US listing, and Shanghai Westwell Lab Information Technology Co., which Bloomberg News in August reported was eyeing a raise of as much as $100 million in Hong Kong.
However, the market hasn’t been completely smooth for such companies. In August, shares of Black Sesame International Holding Ltd., which specializes in chips used in autonomous-driving systems, slumped on their debut. They’re still down about 8% from their IPO price.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and China Securities International are joint sponsors of the Horizon Robotics IPO.
(Adds detail about order books being covered in third paragraph, context about Midea and China Resources Beverage’s IPOs in sixth paragraph.)
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