Skadden, King & Wood Mallesons (KWM), Appleby, Latham & Watkins and Han Kun Law Offices counselled on the HKEX main board listing of China’s second-largest ride-hailing platform CaoCao, which debuted on 25 June, raising around HKD1.85 billion.
The global offering involved 44.18 million shares, with an estimated market capitalisation of around HKD22.82 billion based on the offering price.
For the issuer, Skadden advised on Hong Kong and US law, with a team led by Li Haiping and Paloma Wang, co-heads of the China practice, alongside partner Du Shu. KWM counselled on PRC law and data compliance, with lead partners Pan Yujia, Wang Jianxue, Feng Xia and Chen Junyu; partner Wu Han was responsible for data compliance advisory. Appleby partner Judy Lee provided Cayman Islands legal support.
Underwriters, including Huatai Financial, ABC International and GF Securities (Hong Kong), received Hong Kong and US legal support from Latham & Watkins, with the team led by Hong Kong corporate partners Daying Zhang, Terris Tang and Benjamin Su. Han Kun advised underwriters on PRC law, led by partners Lu Zaiguang and Li Hanmeng.
The IPO attracted six cornerstone investors, including Mercedes-Benz, Mirae Asset Securities, Wuji Capital, Guoxuan High-Tech, EVE Energy and RoboSense, who collectively subscribed to HKD952 million worth of shares.
Founded in 2015 and a subsidiary of Geely Group, CaoCao is the 10th listed company under the Geely umbrella. The funds raised will be used to enhance vehicle service solutions, launch a series of custom vehicles, improve technology, invest in autonomous driving, and repay part of its bank loans.
Unlike market leader DiDi’s C2C model, CaoCao employs a B2C business model of combining public transport and customised vehicles, providing ride-hailing services through self-owned vehicles and recruited drivers, or by selling or leasing vehicles to partners.
As of 31 December 2024, CaoCao operates more than 34,000 customised vehicles across 31 cities and has expanded its ride-hailing services to 136 cities. According to the prospectus, the company achieved revenue of RMB14.7 billion in 2024, reflecting a 37.4% year-on-year increase. However, it continued to operate at a loss, with the gross margin rising from 5.8% in 2023 to 8.1%.
