China’s WeRide said to raise US$440.5mil in US IPO

BEIJING: Chinese self-driving automotive company WeRide Inc. has raised US$440.5 million from its twice-delayed US initial public offering and concurrent private placement, people familiar with the matter said.

The Guangzhou-based autonomous vehicle company had intended to sell 6.45 million American depositary shares at US$15.50 to US$18.50 each.

The IPO priced at the bottom of the range, with the ADS selling for US$15.50 each, but upsized by 20% to raise a total of US$120 million, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.

Separately, a group of investors agreed to buy US$320.5 million worth of ordinary shares via private placements, according to WeRide’s filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Alliance Ventures, the venture capital fund of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance and an existing WeRide backer, was set to purchase US$97 million worth of shares, the filings show.

WeRide didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The share sale caps WeRide’s lengthy road to a public listing in the US.

The company had paused its listing plan in mid-August for a week to make room for a new investor, Bloomberg News reported.

It was further delayed in order to complete documentation for US securities regulators, people familiar with the matter said at the time.

The approval by the Chinese securities regulator for a US listing was renewed earlier this month.

Auto parts maker Robert Bosch GmbH had agreed to buy as much as US$100 million worth of the ADS at the IPO price, according to WeRide’s filings.

The number of ADS available for sale to the public were to be reduced to the extent that Bosch purchased any ADS. Each ADS represents three ordinary shares.

The IPO and placements are a rare sizable listing by a Chinese company in the US since ride-share company Didi Global Inc.’s disastrous 2021 offering.

The largest IPO this year by a Chinese company debuting in the US is Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding Ltd.’s US$441 million first-time share sale in May.

WeRide, which began operating in 2017, develops autonomous driving technology and is testing or deploying it commercially in 30 cities in seven countries, according to the filings.

Its robotaxi fleet uses vehicles purchased from Nissan Motor Co., the filings show.

The IPO comes as the Biden administration is proposing a rule to block the import and sale of Chinese- and Russian-made hardware and software for connected vehicles.

The ban would impact vehicles that can communicate externally through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular or satellite systems, a feature that’s increasingly commonplace.

Officials said these systems are at risk for foreign interference, which could lead to disruption and sabotage.

WeRide would be able to discontinue road testing in the US before such a rule was implemented, its filings show.

The company’s offering is being led by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and China International Capital Corp. WeRide plans for its ADS to trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol WRD.