The IPO Buzz: China’s WeRide (WRD Proposed) Plans IPO Road Trip in a Light Traffic Week

WeRide (WRD Proposed) of China intends to price its IPO this week after delaying the $109.7 million deal last Thursday – hours ahead of the expected pricing. WeRide, an autonomous driving company best known for its robotaxis, is the largest IPO on the IPO Calendar for the week of Aug. 19, 2024.Two small IPOs round out this week’s light lineup: – Powell Max Limited (PMAX Proposed), the parent of a Hong Kong financial communications services firm, aims to raise $8.25 million, and – Trident Digital Tech Holdings (TDTH Proposed), a Singapore digital solutions and services company, intends to raise $10.8 million. Both of these small IPOs are carry-overs from last week.  Waiting for WeRide WeRide plans to sell 6.45 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) at a price range of $15.50 to $18.50 to raise $109.7 million, according to the prospectus. Each ADS represents three ordinary shares. An existing shareholder, Robert Bosch GmbH of Germany, has indicated an interest in buying up to $100 million of the IPO. That anchor order signals that only about $9.7 million in stock might be available to the public. WeRide also plans to conduct a $320.5 million private placement of Class A ordinary shares simultaneously with the IPO. Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and CICC (China International Capital Corp.) are the joint book-runners. WeRide, based in Guangzhou, focused on its “firsts” and milestones  in the prospectus,  including: *The only autonomous driving company in the world to obtain test permits for autonomous driving vehicles in four countries – mainland China, its home; the U.S.; the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Singapore. *The first autonomous driving company in the world with products operating and testing in 30 cities across seven countries. Hong Kong and Singapore IPOs on Tap

Two small Asian IPOs – one from Hong Kong and one from Singapore – are scheduled for pricing this week. Both are NASDAQ listings. Both are carried over from last week.

Powell Max Limited (PMAX Proposed), the profitable holding company of a Hong Kong financial communications services firm, is offering 1.65 million shares at a price range of $4.00 to $6.00 to raise $8.25 million. The small Powell Max IPO is expected to price Tuesday night, Aug. 20, 2024, to trade Wednesday, Aug. 21, on the NASDAQ. The holding company is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. WallachBeth Capital is the book-runner. Powell Max conducts business through JAN Financial Press Limited (aka as “JAN Financial”) – its sole operating subsidiary, based in Hong Kong. JAN Financial Press provides financial communications services to support the capital market compliance and transaction needs of corporate clients and their advisors in Hong Kong. The company’s services include corporate reporting, communications and financial printing. Its clients are domestic and international companies whose stock is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as well as companies that intend to list in Hong Kong, the prospectus said. For the year that ended Dec. 31, 2023, Powell Max Limited reported net income of $910,000 on revenue of $6.3 million, according to the prospectus.  Trident Digital Tech Holdings (TDTH Proposed), the unprofitable holding company of a Singapore digital services and solutions company, is offering 1.8 million ADS (American Depositary Shares) at a price range of $5.00 to $7.00 to raise  $10.8 million. The small Trident Digital Tech IPO is expected to price Thursday night, Aug. 22, to trade Friday, Aug. 23, on the NASDAQ. The holding company is incorporated in the Cayman Islands. WallachBeth Capital is the book-runner.  Trident Digital Tech Holdings – a participant in Singapore’s SMEs Go Digital program –  provides digital solutions and services such as e-commerce platforms, digital marketing tools and data analytics software to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in  Singapore . In 2022, Trident Digital Tech ranked fourth in this digital services market, according to the Frost & Sullivan Report, the prospectus said. Trident Digital Tech was founded in 2014 as a full-service IT (information technology) company headquartered in Singapore. For the year that ended Dec. 31, 2023, Trident Digital Tech Holdings reported a net loss of $4.77 million on revenue of $1.48 million, according to the prospectus.

(For more information about these companies, please check the IPO Calendar and the individual IPO Profiles found on IPOScoop.com’s website.)

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