Tencent-Backed Property Brokerage KE Eyes China's Biggest USD1 Billion IPO in States This Year
Xu Wei
DATE:  Jul 27 2020
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Tencent-Backed Property Brokerage KE Eyes China's Biggest USD1 Billion IPO in States This Year Tencent-Backed Property Brokerage KE Eyes China's Biggest USD1 Billion IPO in States This Year

(Yicai Global) July 27 -- KE Holdings, a Tencent-backed spinoff of Chinese housing agency Lianjia, is looking to raise as much as USD1 billion in the biggest US initial public offering among Chinese firms so far this year.

KE, also known as Beike Zhaofang, would use the funds toward research and development, digital infrastructure, diversified services, and new locations, according to the Beijing-based company's filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission published on July 24.

The firm would list on the New York Stock Exchange and its leading underwriters would be Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley, and China Renaissance Holdings.

Launched in April 2018, KE helps clients publish online listings and search for secondhand housing in hundreds of Chinese cities. Meanwhile, the nearly 20-year-old Lianjia focuses on offline demand.

KE has become the country's biggest housing service platform, according to a CIC report. In 2019, the company's gross transaction value was CNY2.1 trillion (USD304 billion) and it facilitated more than 2.2 million deals.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been bad for the housing agency. In the first three months of this year, the firm's revenue fell 13 percent to CNY7.1 billion from a year earlier. But in the entire year of 2019, it made CNY46 billion in revenue, rising 61 percent from a year ago.

However, the platform is still unprofitable. Last year, the company's net loss widened to CNY2.2 billion (USD314.2 billion) from 2018's CNY428 million (USD61.1 million).

Zuo Hui, the founder of Lianjia, personally holds nearly 47 percent of the IPO-hopeful's equity. Tencent Holdings is the second-largest shareholder with a 12 percent stake.

Editor: Emmi Laine

 

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Keywords:   KE Holdings Inc,IPO,US