Chinese news and video aggregation app Qutoutiao is looking to raise up to $45 million by selling about 3.3 million American Depository Shares ADS in a public offering at $10 per share, it said in an announcement on Wednesday.
Qutoutiao will be issuing approximately 3.3 million ADS, and selling shareholders will be offering the remaining approximately 6.7 million shares, at a public offering price of US$10 per ADS. Underwriters of the offering can purchase up to 1.5 million additional shares.
In its prospectus, the company said it is expecting to raise between $31 million and $45.4 million and the net proceeds will be used for “general corporate purposes”.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., CLSA Limited, Jefferies LLC, Haitong International Securities Company Limited and Lighthouse Capital International Inc. are acting as joint bookrunners for the offering.
The public offering comes on the heels of its recent $171-million convertible loan from Chinese internet giant Alibaba Group last week. Qutoutiao went public on Nasdaq last September – the same week as electric vehicle maker NIO – and raised $84 million.
Qutoutiao (which means ‘fun headlines’ in Chinese) has boosted spending on sales and marketing to 1.4 billion yuan ($199 million) in the fourth quarter to acquire users, an increase of more than 460 percent from a year ago.
Qutoutiao closed at $9.5 on Wednesday, down 5 per cent.
Earlier this week, Chinese video platform Bilibili also launched a convertible bond sale and a follow-on share offering that could raise around $621 million combined, a year after it went public in the US.
Other US-listed Chinese companies are also returning to the capital market to seek more growth capital. Electric vehicle maker NIO, video streaming company iQIYI and e-commerce firm Pinduoduo, have tapped the capital market for additional funding rounds.
NIO raised $750 million in a five-year convertible bond this year, four months after it went public in New York, while iQIYI raised $1.1 billion in six-year convertible bonds this week in its second such issue within a year of its IPO. Pinduoduo raised $1.6 billion in a follow-on offering in February, the fourth-largest ECM transaction this quarter.
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