E-Paper
Warburg Pincus marks down value of Chinese fintech giant after IPO derailed
The company cut Ant’s valuation to a range of $200 billion to $250 billion at year end, down from a peak of about $280 billion before the IPO was halted amid a regulatory crackdown, the people said, requesting not to be identified because the matter is private.
Warburg Pincus LLC, an early investor in Ant Group Co., marked down the value of the Chinese fintech giant after its initial public offering was derailed last year, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company cut Ant’s valuation to a range of $200 billion to $250 billion at year end, down from a peak of about $280 billion before the IPO was halted amid a regulatory crackdown, the people said, requesting not to be identified because the matter is private.
Also read: Abbisko, Chinese biotech firm to plan IPO which could raise $250 mln
Global investors in Ant are grappling with how to assess their investments made in 2018 when the firm was valued at $150 billion. Ant is discussing a “short-term liquidity solution” for employees in April, while Chairman Eric Jing told employees that the company would eventually go public.
Ant raised about $14 billion in 2018 from backers including Singapore’s GIC Pte, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Temasek Holdings Pte.
Silver Lake Management LLC, Warburg and Carlyle Group Inc. were the biggest US backers, investing at least $500 million each, people familiar have said. General Atlantic LLC invested about $350 million in the same round, the people said.
Representatives for Ant and Warburg declined to comment on the valuation, which was reported earlier by Reuters.
