By Scott Murdoch
HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s Full Truck Alliance – which styles itself as the country’s ‘Uber for Trucks’ – has made public filings to list on the New York Stock Exchange and aims to raise up to $1.5 billion, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
At that amount it would be the second-largest U.S. listing by a Chinese company so far in 2021.
The exact size of the fund raising was not specified in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings lodged overnight to begin the process for a U.S. listing.
However, the sources said Full Truck Alliance would look to raise up to $1.5 billion, which would give it a valuation of $20 billion, as previously reported by Reuters.
The sources could not be named as the information has not yet been made public. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the size of the IPO.
Full Truck Alliance has over 10 million registered truck drivers and more than 5 million truck owners on its platform.
It plans to use the cash raised in the deal to develop its infrastructure and technology and expand its services, according to the SEC filings.
At $1.5 billion, Full Truck Alliance’s raising would be just behind the $1.6 billion raised by e-cigarette maker RLX Technology Inc in January.
New rules that mean foreign companies can be delisted within three years if they do not meet U.S. auditing standards have not deterred most Chinese companies from pressing ahead with listing plans.
Dealmakers say Chinese firms carrying out U.S. listings believe they will be able to comply with the rules and can also complete a secondary listing in Hong Kong or Shanghai within that time frame.
(Reporting by Scott Murdoch, additional reporting Yilei Sun in Beijing, editing by Richard Pullin.)
