(Bloomberg) — People who know about the situation say that Sunshine Insurance Group Co. is likely to price its Hong Kong initial public offering at the low end of the range it has set.
People who didn’t want to be named because the information isn’t public said that the Beijing-based company is considering whether or not to sell 1.15 billion new shares at HK$5.83 each. Bloomberg’s calculations show that the IPO would bring in about HK$6.7 billion ($863 million) at that price.
The company had sold shares for between HK$5.83 and HK$6.45 each. People said that talks are still going on, that the price could still change, and that no final decisions have been made. A request for comment from the outside from Sunshine hasn’t been answered right away.
Even at the lowest price, Sunshine’s IPO would be the biggest in the Asian financial hub since battery maker CALB Co.’s IPO in October, which raised $1.3 billion.
Several companies are selling shares before the end of the year because sentiment about Chinese stocks has been getting better over the past few weeks. Bloomberg’s data shows that December will be the second-busiest month for debuts in Hong Kong this year.
Its prospectus shows that Sunshine Insurance runs businesses such as life and health insurance, property and casualty insurance, and asset management.
It also has a division for managing assets, a community for seniors, and hotels, such as the Baccarat Hotel in New York City, which it bought for $230 million in 2015.
For the six months ending in June, the company had a net income of 1.7 billion yuan ($243.6 million), which was 2.5% less than the same time last year.
Sunshine plans to use the money to build up its capital and help its business grow. The stock is set to go on the market on December 9. The deal is sponsored by Huatai International, China International Capital Corp., UBS Group AG, and CCB International Holdings Ltd.