China East Education seeks up to US$680m in Hong Kong IPO

It is offering 435.8 million shares priced at $9.80 to $12.26 apiece.

Vocational training provider China East Education Holdings is gearing up for its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) that could see it racking in as much as US$680m, a report by Bloomberg revealed.

The Hefei, Anhui-based company is offering 435.8 million shares at $9.80 to $12.26 apiece. The price range implies a market cap of US$2.7b to $3.4b, the terms show.

Also read: Hong Kong's IPO haul may hit up to $230b in 2019

At US$544m, assuming bottom-end pricing, East Education’s share sale would be the largest education listing globally, trumping the US$490m offering by US. education service provider Laureate Education Inc. in 2017, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The price range values East Education at 19.4 times to 24.3 times the company’s estimated 2019 earnings, people with knowledge of the matter have said.

The company aims to price the offering on 4 June, before starting trading on 12 June.

Read the full report here.