China Feihe Ltd., an infant formula producer, is restarting preparations for a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise as much as $1 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The Heilongjiang-based company plans to sell shares as soon as this year, according to the people. Feihe is working with China Merchants Securities Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. on the deal, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
Feihe went private from the New York Stock Exchange in 2013 amid a wave of delistings by U.S.-traded Chinese firms. Some of these companies, including game distributor iDreamsky Technology Holdings Ltd. and contract drugmaker Wuxi AppTec Co., have since relisted in Hong Kong.
The sale plan would at least be Feihe’s second attempt to conduct an IPO in Hong Kong. The dairy company applied for a Hong Kong listing in May 2017 with China Merchants Securities as sole sponsor, according to a previous filing.
Details of the offering including the fundraising size and timeline could change, the people said. Representatives for Feihe and JPMorgan declined to comment. A representative for China Merchants Securities said she couldn’t immediately comment.
Feihe and its rivals have been expanding overseas after Chinese consumers lost faith in domestic production following a melamine scandal from more than a decade ago. Feihe invested C$300 million ($225 million) in a production plant in Ontario in partnership with Canada Royal Milk in 2017, while Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co. have invested in facilities in the U.S. and New Zealand.
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Bloomberg