According to informed sources, institutions including investment firm Baillie Gifford and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC purchased shares in MiniMax Group's highly anticipated HK$4.8 billion (US$619 million) Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO).
The company priced its IPO at the top of the marketed range, and the shares offered to institutional investors, excluding the portion for cornerstone investors, attracted more than 70 times the coverage, the sources said. They also indicated that the deal received over 460 bids from institutional investors.
The sources noted that Norges Bank Investment Management and asset manager Schroders were also among the buyers. They stated that global long-only investors—who typically invest in stocks expected to rise and avoid short selling—and sovereign wealth funds subscribed to the majority of the institutional portion beyond the cornerstone shares.
A representative for Schroders declined to comment, while Baillie Gifford, GIC, and Norges Bank did not respond to requests for comment.
MiniMax is scheduled to begin trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday. According to a trading platform operated by KGI Securities, its shares surged as much as 22% in gray market trading to HK$201.6 per share, compared to an issue price of HK$165 per share.
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