Chinese Contract Drugmaker Pharmaron Raises $589m In HK Listing

Chinese contract drugmaker Pharmaron Beijing Co. raised HK$4.6 billion ($589 million) after pricing its Hong Kong listing at the top end of a marketed range, people familiar with the matter said.

The company sold 116.5 million shares at HK$39.50 apiece, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. That implies a market capitalization of $3.9 billion, according to terms for the deal obtained by Bloomberg earlier.

Pharmaron had offered the shares at HK$34.50 to HK$39.50 each. Oaktree Capital Management, OrbiMed Capital and China Structural Reform Fund Corp. were among five cornerstone investors that agreed to buy a combined $160 million worth of stock, the terms show.

The Hong Kong listing comes less than a year after Pharmaron completed a Shenzhen initial public offering, which raised 503 million yuan ($71 million). Its stock has risen more than 600% since its January IPO.

A Hong Kong-based external representative for Pharmaron declined to comment.

Pharmaron, founded in 2004, offers research and development services to the life sciences industry, according to its website. It has more than 7,000 employees with operations in China, the U.S. and the U.K. It is the second-largest pharmaceutical R&D service platform in China, according to the company’s prospectus.

The company’s net income rose 30% in the first six months of the year to 156.7 million yuan, the prospectus shows. It reported 1.64 billion yuan of revenue.

Bloomberg