Hedge-fund firm Millennium Management and Norway's sovereign-wealth fund Norges Bank Investment Management are among those that participated in battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd.'s $5 billion share sale, according to people familiar with the matter.
Trading giant Jane Street Group and alternative-asset manager Hillhouse Investment were also among those getting allocations in Asia's largest share sale yet this year, the people said, asking not to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak publicly.
Jane Street, whose equity capital markets business typically provides liquidity to share sales in the role of a market maker, declined to comment, as did Millennium. Hillhouse and CATL didn't reply to requests for comment. NBIM didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
CATL, as the company is known, launched the deal barely a year after its $5.3 billion Hong Kong listing, taking advantage of a tight market window during a period of de-escalation in the Middle East.
"The participation of foreign institutional investors in the share placement not only helps broaden CATL's shareholder base but also signals that foreign capital remains eager to invest in Chinese companies despite prevailing geopolitical uncertainties," said Bosco Wu, investment strategist at East Asia Securities. "A broader overseas shareholder base may help mitigate the political risks CATL may face in its overseas expansion."
Hedge funds bought the bulk of the shares on offer, with at least some of the demand driven by traders seeking to cover short positions on the battery maker's Hong Kong-listed shares, people with knowledge of the matter have said.
CATL shares have offered an unusual trade, as bets on the battery maker tied to soaring energy prices have driven the Hong Kong shares to a record premium over the Shenzhen listing in March -- a rare constellation as the reverse is usually true for dual-listed companies. That gap fed a buildup of short positions, even as the stock has surged 139% since its Hong Kong debut last year.
More than 150 entities placed orders in CATL's share sale -- including hedge funds, sovereign-wealth funds and existing shareholders, people familiar with the matter have said. The company priced the deal at the bottom of the marketed range.