Welkin China Private Equity has announced an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange with an expectation to raise US$300mln, the growth equity investment firm disclosed on Monday.
Welkin "will be the first investment company focused on Chinese private equity to be listed on the London Stock Exchange,” said chair Ivan Chu, adding: “This gives public investors diversified access to private market investments in China, through funds managed by Welkin and selected external managers."
According to Welkin, its Chinese company portfolio is “broadly diversified” with a focus on mid-market companies operating in the “dynamic and evolving Chinese economy”.
Johnny Kong, co-founder and chief executive officer of Welkin Capital Management, said: “While there has been a period of immense volatility in the public markets, secular growth drivers continue to provide support for long-term investment in the next stage of China's economic transformation.”
The announcement comes amid a steep decline in London IPO listings following an outstanding couple of years.
As previously stated in Proactive, second-quarter IPO activity in the UK’s AIM market was the lowest since 2009.
Massive amounts of cash have been pulled from the market by investors, leading to job cuts among major City of London firms.