WeRide is said to seek up to $400 million in U.S. IPO, placement

China’s WeRide Inc. is seeking as much as $400 million in a U.S. initial public offering and concurrent private placement, people familiar with the matter said.

The Guangzhou-based autonomous vehicle company, which was granted approval last year by the Chinese securities regulator for a U.S. listing, is seeking about $100 million in the IPO and around $200 million to $300 million in the placement, the people said.

WeRide could launch the first-time share sale as soon as th week of Aug. 12, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The approval is set to expire later this month, according to a statement on the China Securities Regulatory Commission website.

Deliberations are ongoing and details of the offering such as size, timing and structure could change, the people said. A representative for WeRide declined to comment.

Alliance Ventures, the venture capital fund of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance, agreed to purchase $97 million worth of shares in WeRide’s offering, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Alliance Ventures, which took part in WeRide funding rounds in 2018 and 2021, is among a group of existing shareholders that are buying stock at the IPO price, the filing showed.

The IPO would be a rare sizeable listing by a Chinese company in the U.S. since ride-share company Didi Global Inc.’s disastrous 2021 offering. The $4.4 billion IPO prompted a crackdown by Beijing on companies selling shares abroad, and resulted in additional scrutiny on firms with sensitive data listing overseas.

Since then, Chinese IPOs in the U.S. have been few and far between. Overseas investors’ appetite for Chinese stocks hasn’t returned, with the S&P China Select ADR Index, which tracks American depositary receipts trading in the U.S. subject to size and liquidity requirements, still 66 percent off its February 2021 high, according to Bloomberg calculations. The index has shed about 9 percent in 2024.

The largest IPO this year by a Chinese company outside mainland China is Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding Ltd.’s $441 million first-time share sale in May. The stock is trading 27 percent below its IPO price.

WeRide, which began operating in 2017, develops autonomous driving technology and is testing or deploying it commercially in 30 cities in seven countries, according to the filing. Its robotaxi fleet uses vehicles purchased from Nissan Motor Co., the filing shows.

The IPO would also come as the U.S. is preparing to widen its confrontation with China over autonomous and internet-connected vehicles. Biden administration officials plan to propose limits on U.S. sales of Chinese vehicle software as soon as this month, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday. The move would include curbs on the use and testing of Chinese technology for autonomous vehicles, people familiar with the matter have said.

WeRide’s offering is being led by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and China International Capital Corp. WeRide plans for its shares to trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol WRD.