Asian life insurer FWD Group has announced that it has filed a registration statement for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) in the US.
FWD plans to list its American depositary shares (ADSs), representing Class A ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “FWD”.
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The firm did not reveal the number of shares to be listed and the price range for the IPO.
Earlier, Reuters has reported that FWD could raise $2bn-$3bn from its IPO, which could take the company’s valuation to $13bn-$15bn.
FWD has also revealed that Apollo Global Management’s Athene Life Re has agreed to buy shares worth $400m through private placement.
Other investors have shown interest in buying nearly $500m of shares in the IPO.
These investors include the Li Ka Shing Foundation that could buy up to $300m worth of stock, while Richard Li’s PCCW could invest up to $100m, the filings showed.
FWD’s controlling shareholder, Pacific Century Group also plans to buy shares worth $100m.
FWD was established in 2012 after the acquisition of ING’s Hong Kong, Macau, and Thailand units.
In July 2019, FWD announced plans to acquire Siam Commercial Bank’s life insurance operations for $3bn.
A year later, FWD completed the acquisition of the Hong Kong business of American insurance giant MetLife.
