Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer which recently filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, has reportedly planned to kick off the US leg of its global offering this week. In order to attract attention, the company will fly drones in Central Park.
The news about the drones in Central Park in the US comes after the Hong Kong roadshow where some investors were left underwhelmed. According to the report, head of Hong Kong-based office of one of the leading New York investment group said that “they want the market to think they are a combination of Apple and Tencent, but they are not.”
Investors at the Hong Kong roadshow said the share pricing was expensive even at the lower end but Xiaomi and its advisers argued that it deserves a bigger multiple in recognition of its broader ecosystem. The company said that its business concern cut across hardware, e-commerce and internet services.
Recently, Xiaomi officially announced its intention to raise up to 6.1 billion US dollars through an IPO in the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company had initially set its sight at raising $10 billion but that was reduced after the company suspended its CDR offering in China.
During the conference held in Hong Kong, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said that the company has huge potential for growth in the future. The company also disclosed that it hopes to sell almost 2.2 billion shares to global investors during the IPO which will commence on Monday for between 17 and 22 Hong Kong dollars each (approximately $2.20 to $2.80).
It was disclosed that Xiaomi is valued at between $54 billion and $70 billion, which is lower than the valuation of close to $100 billion the company was reportedly seeking earlier this year.
The offer prospectus from the company says that Xiaomi is primarily an internet company. It further adds that “by first selling a wide variety of smart hardware products, we have built a massive and proprietary platform for the delivery of our diverse internet services.”
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The company has further revealed that Lei Jun who has been Xiaomi’s CEO since inception has been awarded stock worth about $1.5 billion for his contributions to the company. The decision was reportedly taken in a consensus and is based on Lei Jun’s devotion over the last eight years to the company he started from scratch, for which he has not taken a salary.
(Source)
