Ducati appoints banks for IPO in Hong Kong
ITALIAN motorcycle maker Ducati has appointed Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Mediobanca to manage its prospective Hong Kong IPO, sources told City A.M. yesterday.
Reports of the banks’ appointment for a Hong Kong IPO come 24 hours after the London-based retailer of diamonds, Graff Diamonds, was reported to be considering a $1bn IPO in Hong Kong. Rothschild is believed to be advising Graff on the deal.
If they go ahead with their Hong Kong IPO plans, Ducati and Graff Diamonds would be following in the footsteps of fashion brand Prada which completed a HK$16.7bn (£1.35bn) IPO earlier this year.
Owing to brand recognition and possibly luxury brand consideration, Ducati will hope to benefit from Hong Kong’s retail-strong market, the specialist publication IFR reported.
UK listing authorities will be mindful of the success of the Hong Kong IPO market as they consider UK investor requests to tighten up regulation of the UK markets.
Some investors fear there have been too many waivers of some listing conditions, such as the percentage of shares listed in the free float element of a share issue, as the number of oligarch-led companies have increased.