Jun 29, 2022
Sunwoda Taps Goldman Sachs, UBS for $500 Million Swiss Listing
, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- Battery maker Sunwoda Electronic Co. is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and UBS Group AG for a sale of global depositary receipts in Switzerland that could raise as much as $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
A Swiss share sale by the Shenzhen-listed company could happen as soon as September, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Sunwoda opted for a GDR sale -- an initiative encouraged by Beijing -- after previously considering a Hong Kong listing, one of the people said.
The board of Sunwoda approved a plan to list in Switzerland or London, according to a filing to Shenzhen’s stock exchange on Tuesday, without providing any details of the potential offering.
Deliberations are ongoing, details of the fundraising such as size and timing could change, and more banks could be added, the people said. Representatives for Goldman Sachs and UBS declined to comment. A representative for Sunwoda didn’t respond to emails requesting comment.
Sunwoda joins competitors Ningbo Shanshan Co. and Gotion High-Tech Co. in tapping the expanded cross-border listing program. Ningbo Shanshan is looking to raise $1 billion from a GDR sale, Bloomberg News has reported, while Gotion is considering raising about 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion).
China’s securities regulator said in February that the Shanghai-London Stock Connect, which allows companies that are listed on one exchange to offer depository receipts on the other, will be extended to include firms listed in Switzerland, Germany and Shenzhen.
Founded in 1997, Sunwoda expanded into the EV battery business in 2008, according to its website. The manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for products including smartphones has eleven production bases in China and India with some technical centers in the US and Europe. It went public on Shenzhen’s ChiNext exchange in 2011. Sunwoda counts carmakers including Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. and Dongfeng Motor Group Co. among its major customers.
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