WH Group , the world’s biggest pork producer, is set to shrink its initial public offering in Hong Kong after it delayed pricing of the proposed deal yesterday, writes Josh Noble.
The Chinese pork company had been planning to raise up to $6.2bn from its listing, which would have been the biggest in Hong Kong since 2010. It was due to price its shares yesterday during New York hours, before its trading debut on April 30.
But in a further sign of weak appetite for Chinese deals, the company will now push back pricing while it rethinks how much it is looking to raise, according to two people with knowledge of the process. WH Group would still like to price shares within its indicated range of HK$8.00-HK$11.25, but is discussing various options with bankers and investors, including a much smaller deal or a lower valuation. One scenario would involve raising $1.3bn-$1.9bn by selling 10 per cent of the company, and a week-long delay to both pricing and trading.