SoftBank-backed OneConnect slashes price range, downsizes IPO
Dec 11 (Reuters) - Ping An Insurance's OneConnect Financial Technology on Wednesday lowered the price range for its planned U.S. initial public offering, dealing yet another blow to its investor SoftBank, which is still reeling from the fallout of WeWork's failed listing.
OneConnect set a price range of $9 to $10 per share for its initial public offering of 26 million shares, down from the $12 to $14 per share range it had set earlier.
The company also downsized the offering from 36 million American depositary shares (ADSs) to 26 million ADSs.
OneConnect, a unit of China's biggest insurer by market value, Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd, counts Japan's SoftBank and Japanese financial firm SBI Group as some of its main investors.
The upper end of the price range values OneConnect at about $3.64 billion.
That is well below its $7.5 billion valuation last year when it raised $750 million in its maiden funding round from investors including Japan's SoftBank and Japanese financial firm SBI Group.
The float comes as tech investor SoftBank smarts from the abandoned share sale of major portfolio firm WeWork, as well as its first quarterly loss in 14 years dragged down by an $8.9 billion hit at its giant Vision Fund, through which it invested in OneConnect. (Reporting by Bharath Manjesh and Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
