NIO intends to raise up to $1.722 bln by issuing 75 mln shares

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinese EV startup NIO announced on August 27 the outset of the offering of 75 million American depositary shares (the “ADSs”), each representing one Class A ordinary share of the company.

NIO said it intends to grant the underwriters in the ADS offering a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 11.25 million ADSs. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Limited and BofA Securities, Inc. are acting as the underwriters for the ADS Offering.

The EV startup seeks to raise $1.497 billion to $1.722 billion from the ADS offering, according to NIO's prospectus. The proceed is scheduled to be use to increase the share capital of NIO's ownership in NIO China, to repurchase equity interests held by certain minority shareholders of NIO China, and for the R&D in autonomous driving technologies, global market expansion and other purposes.

The high-profile EV startup saw its shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange rise 19.17% closing at $17.84 on August 25 and its market value hit $21.131 billion, for the first time exceeding $20 billion.

According to a UBS note published on the same day, UBS raised NIO's price target to $16.30 from $1.00, representing a precipitous surge of 1,530%. The Swiss multinational investment bank said improving fundamentals at NIO have alleviated concerns around its balance sheet thanks to a successful capital raise in June.

On August 27, Xpeng Motors, one of NIO's rivals, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker “XPEV”. The Guangzhou-based EV maker said it sold more than 99.7 million shares for $15 per ADS in its Wall Street debut, raising about $1.5 billion. It originally planned to sell 85 million shares at $11-$13 each.