The IPO Buzz: WeRide (WRD) Prices Upsized IPO at $15.50 – Low End

WeRide (WRD) of China upsized its IPO at pricing to 7.74 million American Depositary Shares – up from 6.45 million ADS in the prospectus – and priced the IPO at $15.50 – the low end of its $15.50-to-$18.50 price range – to raise $120.01 million on Thursday night, Oct. 24, 2024. WeRide’s ADS are expected to start trading today – Friday, Oct. 25, 2024 – on the NASDAQ. Each ADS represents three ordinary shares.

WeRide, an autonomous driving technology company known for its robotaxis and robobuses in China, also raised $320.5 million in a concurrent private placement on Thursday night.

Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and CICC (China International Capital Corp.) were the joint book-runners.

The pricing of WeRide’s IPO on Thursday night marked the Chinese company’s third time on the IPO runway. WeRide had been set to price its IPO twice in August – and both of those efforts were postponed at the last minute.

Robert Bosch GmbH, Germany, an existing shareholder, had indicated an interest in buying up to $100 million of the ADS offered in the IPO, according to the prospectus.

Private Placement Raises $320.5 Million

In the concurrent private placement, Alliance Ventures had agreed to buy $97 million – or 30.3 percent of the $320.5 million or Class A ordinary shares offered. Alliance Ventures is the venture capital fund of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance.

JSC International Investment Fund SPC had agreed to buy $69.5 million of ordinary shares, while Get Ride Inc. was in for $50 million, and Beijing Minghong was in for $46 million, according to the prospectus. The other indications were: Kechuangzhixing Holdings Limited, $30 million;  Guangqizhixing Holdings Limited and Gac Capital International Ltd.,$20 million each, and  GZJK WENYUAN Inc., $8 million.

Self-Driving Taxis from China to California

WeRide, based in Guangzhou, operates self-driving taxis and robobuses in mainland China. The Chinese company has also obtained permits to test robotaxis in California and Nevada, as well as in the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, according to the prospectus.

WeRide 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.

WeRide is not profitable. The company reported a net loss that’s more than five times its revenue for the 12 months that ended June 30, 2024, according to financial statements in the prospectus.

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