China Real Estate prices IPO at low end of range

China Real Estate prices IPO at low end of range, raising $216M; trading expected Friday

• On 8:19 am EDT, Friday October 16, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) -- Real estate database and consulting company China Real Estate Information Corp. priced its initial public offering at $12 per share, near the low end of its expected range.

China Real Estate had expected shares to price between $11.80 and $13.80, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The offering of 18 million American depositary shares will raise $216 million. The U.S.-traded ADS represents one ordinary share of the Shanghai-based company.

The 18 million shares offered in the IPO will equal about 13 percent of stock outstanding.

The stock will trade on the Nasdaq under the "CRIC" ticker.

Underwriters Credit Suisse Securities and UBS AG have the option to buy another 2.7 million shares.

China Real Estate was a subsidiary of Chinese real estate services company E-House Holdings Ltd. After the offering, it will also merge with the online real estate business of Sina Corp., an online portal in China.

E-House owns more than half of China Real Estate's shares, and Sina owns about a third of the company. Both E-House and Sina are also listed in the U.S.

China Real Estate intends to sell Internet advertising on Web sites acquired from Sina in addition to operating its database subscription service for Chinese developers and a consulting arm.

In a regulatory filing, the company said it would use net proceeds to fund capital expenditures and expand sales and marketing efforts.

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