Exclusive | Richard Li’s insurer FWD drops New York listing to sell shares in Hong Kong after a US$1.4 billion private placement with global investors
- FWD will raise more than US$1.4 billion in a private share placement to global investors including Apollo, CPPIB, Swiss Re and Siam Commercial Bank
- The Hong Kong insurer plans to sell shares in the city in the first half of 2022, dropping its listing plan in New York, a source said
The insurer will raise the cash through a placement of new shares with a group of global investors including Apollo Global Management, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the reinsurer Swiss Re, and the Siam Commercial Bank, FWD said in a statement on its website on Tuesday.
Other investors include Li’s Pacific Century Group, Metro Pacific Investments Corp and the Li Ka Shing Foundation, which is controlled by Li’s father. The private placement was expected to be completed this month, subject to certain closing conditions. The statement did not mention its US listing plan.
FWD will still drop its plan to list on the New York Stock Exchange even after it received a green light from the Securities and Exchanges Commission, the source said on Monday, adding that it is likely to list at home in the first half of 2022. FWD’s spokesperson declined to comment.