ECM Weekly (25th April 2021) - Meituan, China Gas, Futu, Zai Lab, Anta, We Doctor, Brii Biosci

Asia ECM activity has been relentless and, this week, it is all about placements. Following close on the steps of Tencent linked US$14bn placement, a lot of companies came forward with US$1bn+ deals. This trend could continue as most of these deals have done well, so far.

Hong Kong placements totaled up to about US$13.2bn in deal size with Meituan (3690 HK) accounting for the bulk of it. The company raised about US$10bn via a combination of equity (top-up) placement and convertible bond issuance; confirming a rumor that had been floating around in the past one or two weeks prior to the placement. The placement traded well likely due to strong demand from investors as news reported indicated that demand was about 10x covered.

• Meituan Placement - Might Not Do a Tencent but Low-End Looks Enticing

JS Global Lifestyle (1691 HK), China Gas Holdings (384 HK), Anta Sports Products (2020 HK), and Kingboard Holdings (148 HK) also raised capital this week. China Gas struggled to hold up above its deal price while Anta closed about 4.6% above. Both deals were priced at/close to the low-end of their respective price ranges.

• China Gas Placement - Deal Size Is Similar to Last Placement but Dynamics Are Different

• Anta Sports Placement - Has Been Doing Well but the Chairman Selling Will Be -Ve for Sentiment

In this U.S, Zai Lab Ltd (ZLAB US) and Futu Holdings Ltd (FUTU US) also came to market with US$750m and US$1.2bn of follow-on offerings. Both deals managed to price at a decent discount to undisturbed price which allowed them to trade well above their deal price post offering.

• Futu Holdings Placement - Very Strong Momentum but Previous Deal Did Nothing

• Zai Lab Follow-On Offering - Much Better Liquidity and Strong Track Record than a Year Ago

Lastly, in Australia, Seven Group Holdings (SVW AU) raised about US$380m in its institutional placement to improve its gearing. The deal is large compared to its past three month ADV and had struggled earlier this week post placement and only managed to end the week just 0.4% above its deal price.

• Seven Group Holdings Placement - Good Track Record but Still a Large Deal to Digest

Back to IPOs, in Hong Kong, we continued our coverage of upcoming Healthcare IPOs which include Angelalign Technology (AAT HK), CARSgen Therapeutics (1186504D CH), Brii Biosciences (1621985D US), and WeDoctor Holdings (1737089D HK).

• CARsgen (科济药业) Pre-IPO: Scientific Bet on New CAR-T Targets

• Brii Biosciences (腾盛博药) Pre-IPO: A Hopeful Tackle on HBV

• Angelalign (时代天使) Pre-IPO: Medical Device Player with Consumer Feature

• We Doctor (微医) Pre-IPO - Forecasts, Early Thoughts on Valuation, and Acquisition Gripes

We also heard that SF Real Estate Investment Trust (SF HK) is seeking approval for its IPO while Zhaoke Ophthalmology Pharmaceutical (6622 HK)'s will be priced at the top-end and the company will debut on Thursday. In Thailand, Ngern Tid Lor (NTL TB)'s IPO got good demand and IPO bookbuild closed earlier than stipulated.

In India, we covered Sona Comstar, a Blackstone-backed automotive technology company, looking to raise US$800m.

• Sona Comstar Pre-IPO - Inconsistent Growth, Patchy Disclosures

Last, but not least, we also covered Waterdrop Inc (WDH US)'s upcoming IPO. The company had just publicly filed its prospectus with the SEC last week.

• Waterdrop Pre-IPO - The Positives - Fast Growth, Strong Backers
• Waterdrop Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Scandals, Shutdowns, Competing with Giants, Regulation

Credits to Clarence Chu for helping out with the Weekly Update.