Baillie Gifford, Norges Said to Invest in Horizon Robotics Hong Kong IPO

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(Bloomberg) -- Baillie Gifford & Co. was among the top investors in Horizon Robotics’ $696 million Hong Kong initial public offering, marking the latest sign of a potential share sale revival in the city.

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The fund manager invested about HK$2.02 billion ($260 million) in the IPO after it was allocated 507 million shares, according to an exchange filing Wednesday, which confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report. Norges Bank Investment Management, Norway’s $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund, and Wellington Management Group also placed orders for stock, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Baillie Gifford had put in an order of more than $500 million — enough to cover the entire portion reserved for institutional investors excluding the cornerstone tranche, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

The Chinese company, which provides technology used in autonomous driving systems, attracted strong demand from global long-only investors, technology specialists and Chinese funds, the people said. The institutional tranche of the IPO was 13.8 times covered, Horizon Robotics said in the exchange filing.

Representatives for Horizon Robotics, Norges and Wellington declined to comment.

Horizon Robotics priced its IPO at the top of the range Tuesday, in what is set to be Hong Kong’s second-largest listing this year after Midea Group Co.’s $4.6 billion share sale last month. The Hang Seng Index is up 20% since Sept. 11.

China Resources Beverage Holdings Co.’s shares listed in the city Wednesday, immediately jumping 14% from the IPO price in another indication that Hong Kong’s market is staging a comeback. CR Beverage raised about $650 million in its IPO.

Founded in 2015, Horizon Robotics is controlled by Kai Yu, an AI scientist who used to work at Baidu and was instrumental in its push into autonomous driving.

Chinese tech heavyweights Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc. were among the four cornerstone investors that agreed to subscribe for about $220 million in Horizon Robotics stock in the IPO.

(Updates with confirmation from Horizon Robotics in filing)

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