REUTERS: Shares of Dingdong, backed by SoftBank Vision Fund II, opened 19per cent above their offer price in their debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, giving the Chinese grocery app a valuation of US$6.6 billion.
The stock opened at US$28 per share, up from the initial public offering price of US$23.50. At that valuation, Dingdong would be worth 29per cent more than the US$5.1 billion it was valued at after the Japanese conglomerate invested in it last month.
Earlier, the company raised US$95.7 million, selling more than 4 million American depositary shares. The pricing was at the lower end of a range announced earlier.
The IPO size was slashed to almost a fourth of Dingdong’s initial target, indicating a lukewarm response from investors despite a sustained mania for new listings in the United States.
Established in 2017 and backed also by Tiger Global Management and Sequoia Capital, Dingdong operates mainly in China’s first-tier cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Hangzhou.
Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities and Credit Suisse were the lead underwriters.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
