Chinese autonomous driving start-up Momenta has successfully completed its initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, raising HK$5.89 billion ($751 million). The company priced its shares at HK$295.60 each, the top end of its marketed range. Momenta's IPO attracted significant investor interest, with the public offering subscribed 414 times and nearly 210,000 subscription applications.
The Suzhou-based company is supported by prominent investors including General Motors Co. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. It also attracted 14 cornerstone investors who committed approximately HK$2.94 billion ($375.75 million), roughly half of the total offering size. These cornerstone investors include Singapore's wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd, asset managers like Fidelity International Ltd and BlackRock Inc, and carmaker Mercedes-Benz Group AG. BYD's investment arm, Golden Link, and GigaDevice Semiconductor were also among the cornerstone investors.
Momenta plans to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's main board, with its shares slated to begin trading on July 8. Approximately 60% of the net proceeds from the IPO will be allocated to research and development, including upgrading its artificial intelligence computing power, expanding data storage, and scaling its engineering team. Another 20% is earmarked to support the commercialization of its robotaxi solutions, with the remaining funds going towards strengthening mass-produced vehicle operations, working capital, and general corporate purposes.
The successful IPO positions Momenta as the week's largest fundraising effort among six simultaneous listings in Hong Kong, with a post-listing valuation of HK$69.63 billion. Momenta is also the second "red-chip" firm this year to receive Beijing's regulatory approval for a Hong Kong listing via an offshore structure, demonstrating strong market sentiment despite a broader sales slump in China's automotive industry. Joint sponsors for the listing were China International Capital Corporation and Deutsche Bank.
