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Bloomberg
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. plans to invest about $100 million in Best Inc.’s initial public offering, after the Chinese logistics provider cut the size of the deal nearly in half, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Best is seeking as much as $495 million from the IPO after it reduced the price range and existing investors decided not to sell stock, the people said. The Hangzhou-based company is now offering 45 million American depository shares at $10 to $11 apiece, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
The express-delivery firm is planning a debut after more than a month-long drought in the US IPO market. Zai Lab Ltd., the Chinese drug developer seeking to raise as much as $106 million selling shares in the US, is aiming to price its offering this week, according to an earlier filing.
Best and its existing investors were initially seeking to raise as much as $932 million from the IPO, according to an earlier filing. The company was offering 53.56 million ADSs at $13 to $15 apiece, while existing investors were selling 8.54 million ADSs.
Representatives for Alibaba and Best declined to comment. IFR reported that Best had reduced the size of the offering, citing unidentified people.
Alibaba, backed by billionaire Jack Ma, was already Best’s biggest shareholder before the IPO with a 23.4 percent stake, according to a September 6 regulatory filing. Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Ltd., a logistics affiliate of Alibaba, owns 5.6 percent. Alibaba online-shopping platforms like Taobao and Tmall accounted for about 69 percent of Best’s express deliveries in the first half of the year, the filing shows.
ZTO Express Inc., another Chinese package-delivery firm that relies on Alibaba for most of its business, has fallen 24 percent since it began trading last year.