Shares in the electric-car unit of China Evergrande Group rose to a high Monday in Hong Kong trade after a $3.4 billion cash injection announced late Sunday energized its plan to topple Tesla, Inc.
China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Ltd.'s Hong Kong-listed shares rose in price by more than 60% Monday - a day after it told the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that strategic investors had bought a 9.75% stake for HK$26 billion ($3.35 billion).
The new cash upped the company's market capitalization by $17 billion to $51 billion.
China Evergrande Group - also known as The Evergrande Group or the Evergrande Real Estate Group - is the world's most indebted property company. Evergrande, whose shares rose 8% Monday, has a market capitalization of $28.8 billion.
New Energy paper opened Monday at HK$35 a share, hit HK$47.90 and then closed at HK$45.35.
In a filing with HKEx, New Energy said six new investors were joining the electric-vehicle company controlled by China Evergrande. The money will be spent on research and debt repayment, it said in the filing.
New Energy said it would offer 952.4 million subscription shares at HK$27.30 each to the new stakeholders: Chairperson Liu Minghui of China Gas, Upper World Ltd., Cosmic Success Holdings, Heyirong International Trade Co. Ltd, Greenwoods Global Investment and Chan Hoi-wan, the spouse of Chinese Estate Holdings investor Joseph Lau.
The price represents an 8% discount to the company's shares average traded price over the past five days and a 9% discount to its last traded price Friday. The subscription amounts to almost 10% of its enlarged capital. Chan Hoi and Liu Minghui will each buy a HK$3 billion stake.
Stock of China Evergrande has rallied more than 300% in the past four quarters in spite of losses in recent years.
The buyers have agreed to a 12-month lockup deal, the company said in the filing.
Meanwhile, China Evergrande has been struggling to repay debt and faces China's new debt-ratio limitations to tackle excessive loans from the market.
The company was subjected to a regulatory evaluation last year by the National Development and Reform Commission - which demanded investment information from the company.
The stock placement shows the investors' trust in the business prospects and can also boost the company's capital base, according to the filing. It will help New Energy's vision of becoming the "biggest and most powerful new-energy vehicle group" in the world, the company said.
Last year, New Energy raised $516 million from Tencent Holdings, Sequoia Capital and other investors.
Competition among China's top electric-vehicle makers is growing with NIO, Xpeng and Li Auto attracting investors.
New Energy is controlled by China's third-wealthiest man, Hui Ka-yan. He is looking to increase the company's car output capacity to between 500,000 and 1 million cars within three to five years, the company said.
