On August 5, as the co-sponsor, joint global coordinator, joint book-runner and joint lead underwriter, BOC International helped WH Group Limited ("WH Group") float its shares on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 288.HK), with proceeds from the share issue exceeding HK$15.92 billion (before green shoe options), which made it the world's largest IPO in the retail consumer industry this year.
WH Group, formerly known as Shuanghui International and renamed in January 2014, is the world's biggest pork products producer, with a business scope covering pig breeding and slaughtering, processing and sales of meat products and fresh pork. The IPO in Hong Kong was 54.2 times over-subscribed, with 7.09 billion shares subscribed in total; so was its international placement. On the first day of trading, the stock generated hot responses in the market, with its share price closed at HK$6.66, up 7.4% as compared with the issue price, and with market value hitting HK$95 billion.
The success of this IPO project has once again demonstrated BOC's role of serving the government's strategies by leveraging its group coordination effect, and guiding prominent Chinese enterprises into the international arena. As the wholly-owned investment banking division of BOC, BOC International has maintained a leading position in IPOs, stock trading, bond issues and provident funds of Hong Kong and the capital market in China’s Mainland; it was the only Chinese investment bank of the two banks that assisted WH Group in its listing.
BOC has forged a strategic partnership with WH Group, and long supported its development. In 2013, BOC led a consortium composed of 8 first-rate global banks with a US$4 billion syndicated loan in support of Shineway Group's acquisition of Smithfield Foods in the US, which broke a new record in overseas acquisition amount by private Chinese companies. It is also the biggest M&A project in the US and in the history of the global animal husbandry industry, as well as the largest acquisition in the world's non-natural resources sector by a Chinese enterprise.
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