HONG KONG: Sea Ltd, a Southeast Asian e-commerce and gaming company, plans to raise $6.3 billion in a share and convertible bond sale in one of the region's largest ever capital raisings, according to the firm's regulatory filing.
The Singapore-headquartered company is looking to sell 11 million American Depository Receipts (ADRs), with the option to offer 1.65 million more as part of a so-called greenshoe option, Sea said in its filing on Thursday.
It is also raising $2.5 billion in a convertible bond that has a $375 million greenshoe attached.
At Sea's closing stock price of $343.8 in New York on Wednesday, the share sale could raise up to $3.8 billion.
This is the second major fund raising in less than a year for the $185 billion company that is looking to scale up its global expansion.
Sea, Southeast Asia's top company by market capitalisation, said it plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including strategic investments and acquisitions.
In December last year, Sea raised $2.57 billion in a discounted share sale at $195 a share. It also finalised a $1 billion convertible bond sale in May in 2020.
Fintech and e-commerce companies in Southeast Asia have been raising hefty amounts of capital as global investors bet on post-pandemic technology plays emerging in the region.
Companies have raised a total of $15.67 billion in equity capital markets in Southeast Asia in 2021 - the most in three years, Refinitiv data shows - versus $11.8 billion over the corresponding period in 2020.
Sea's e-commerce platform Shopee is planning to expand into Europe and India. Late last year, Sea also secured a full digital bank licence in Singapore.
Shares of the company have risen 72.72% this year, after an almost five-fold jump in 2020 amid strong demand as COVID-19-related restrictions forced people indoors. - Reuters
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