UPDATE 1-China's Glorious Property eyes $1.5 bln IPO
* Real estate developer seeks to raise HK$11.93 billion
* Price range of HK$4.00-HK$5.30/shr; final price Sept. 24
* Trading debut seen on Oct. 2 (Adds details, background)
By Michael Flaherty
HONG KONG, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Chinese real estate developer Glorious Property hopes to raise up to $1.54 billion in a public offering that comes amid a rush of IPOs from domestic property groups.
The price range of the offering is HK$4.00-HK$5.30 per share, with a base offer size of 2.25 billion shares in total, according to a term sheet obtained by Reuters on Monday.
The offering's roadshow begins this week, with bankers shopping the IPO to institutional investors to gauge demand and determine the ultimate price.
UBS AG (UBSN.VX), JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) are handling the offering.
Fellow property developer Evergrande also plans to raise an estimated $1.5 billion, with other Chinese real estate companies also in the IPO pipeline. The companies hoped to list last year, but pulled the plans when markets tumbled. [ID:nHKG164817]
The final price of the Glorious Property IPO is planned for Sept. 24.
Hedge funds and Western banks invested in Chinese property companies two years ago after a real estate boom sent valuations in the sector soaring and produced some successful IPOs.
Such pre-IPO investments were expected to be profitable to investors who thought the credit bubble would last and planned for a quick and easy pay-out after the listing.
But the credit bubble burst, and the ensuing financial crisis quashed those hopes, leaving investors with illiquid holdings worth much less than hoped.
Now, with China lifting a ban on IPOs and the Hong Kong IPO market heating up, companies are rushing to list while the window is open.
Analysts and bankers say that while the opportunity is there, a glut of real estate IPOs may see mixed success, as investors see little difference between the offerings and companies. Getting to market first will be an advantage, they say.
Glorious Property is expected to begin trading on Oct. 2.
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsN ... 14?rpc=611