Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL, SHE: 300750), has raised RMB 19.7 billion (USD 2.8 billion) by issuing 122.4 million new shares to specific investors in private deals, according to a filing on Friday.
CATL priced each new share at RMB 161, slightly lower than the average price in the past 20 trading sessions prior to July 6, on which investors were allowed to subscribe. The stock closed at RMB 205.30 on Monday.
Hillhouse Capital bought 62.1 million shares for nearly RMB 10 billion while Japanese automaker Honda’s China subsidiary spent RMB 3.7 billion for 23 million shares. UBS AG, J.P. Morgan Securities, JPMorgan Chase Bank, and Guotai Junan Securities are also among the investors in this private placement.
The new funds will be used to build or enlarge its lithium-ion batteries manufacturing plants located in Ningde, East China’s Fujian province, where CATL is headquartered, as well as in Jiangsu and Sichuan, according to a previous filing in May. CATL earlier signed a two-year contract with Tesla to become its battery supplier, KrASIA reported in February.
This article is part of KrASIA’s “China Brief” section, where KrASIA’s reporters will provide quick daily updates about the tech ecosystem in China.