Tencent-backed Zhihu, a Quora-like Chinese platform, seeks Hong Kong listing in US$172 million IPO
- Zhihu’s HK$1.3 billion Hong Kong IPO comes 13 months after its New York debut
- Tencent owns 12.8 per cent of the firm while other early backers include venture funds managed by Kai-fu Lee and Qiming Ventures
Zhihu, a Quora-like Chinese online content platform, is seeking a Hong Kong listing through a HK$1.3 billion (US$171.7 million) stock offering by some of its early investors, more than a year after its New York debut.
Some of its existing shareholders will offer 26 million shares, or about 8.2 per cent of the share capital, for as much as HK$51.80 each, according to filings. That works out to a 29 per cent premium to its American depositary shares, which closed at US$2.56 on Friday. Each Hong Kong share represents two American depositary shares.
The IPO, which has an overallotment option of up to 3.9 million more shares, is slated to close on Thursday. Trading is set to begin on the main board under the ticker “2390” on April 22, the company said.
“The global offering will present us with an opportunity to further expand our investor base and to broaden and solidify our access to capital markets”, the Beijing-based company said in its prospectus.
At the top end of the offer price, Zhihu would be valued at HK$16.4 billion. Its depositary shares have plunged about 80 per cent from their peak of US$12.51 last June amid China’s crackdown on internet-platform operators.
