WH Group updates IPO filing, may relaunch offer soon

Chinese pork producer WH Group Ltd has updated the prospectus of an up-to-$5.3 billion Hong Kong IPO it had scrapped earlier this year, a sign the company may be looking to relaunch the offer soon.

"The company will certainly relaunch the IPO but we do not have a timetable," a PR staff told the Global Times Thursday, noting the company is waiting for a proper opportunity for its relaunch. The staff member declined to reveal the IPO size.

The revised prospectus does not specify the size of the IPO or the timing either, but a person familiar with the matter told Reuters the company is seeking cornerstone investors ahead of a possible launch of the offer.

WH Group, whose products include Smithfield ham and Farmland bacon in the US, has named BOC International and Morgan Stanley as the two IPO sponsors, down from an initial list of seven.

The company had previously named five other sponsors, including CITIC Securities International, Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered and UBS.

The revised prospectus shows a strong quarterly performance, which could attract investors to the offer.

The first-quarter profit after tax more than tripled to $407 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014 from $125 million in the same period a year earlier.

Turnover during the period more than tripled to $5.05 billion, while the company earned a 7 percent net profit margin compared with a negative 2.3 percent margin for the year ended December 31, 2013.

The company, backed by China private equity firms CDH Investments, New Horizon, Goldman Sachs and Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, initially hired a record 29 banks for the planned IPO, which was eventually pulled in April due to lack of demand.