NetEase relaunches the Hong Kong IPO of music streaming company Cloud Village

HONG KONG, Nov. 16 (Reuters) – NetEase Inc has relaunched the Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) of its music streaming company Cloud Village, according to documents filed by the company on Tuesday, an agreement according to two sources aims to lift about $ 500 million by the end of the year.

The IPO was put on hold in August as global financial markets reacted to the series of Chinese regulatory tightening ordered after Didi Global Inc’s (DIDI.N) IPO in the United States.

NetEase accused the volatile trade of major Chinese tech companies of dampening investor appetite for the deal at the time, sources said.

Cloud Village Inc relaunched the listing process on Tuesday in an updated dossier on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, without specifying a trade size or timeline.

NetEase had planned to raise $ 1 billion in the August deal, sources said at the time. He now hopes to raise around $ 500 million, said two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, although the final figure has yet to be determined.

The company hopes to be listed before the end of 2021, depending on market conditions, the two sources said. They declined to be named because the information has not yet been made public.

NetEase did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Cloud Village is considered the closest rival to Tencent’s popular music streaming service, which dominates the market in mainland China.

Alibaba Group Holdings (9988.HK), Baidu Inc (9888.HK), General Atlantic and Boyu Capital are investors in Cloud Village, according to the company’s listing documents.

NetEase’s US-listed stock has traded 16% higher so far in 2021.

Reporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Jan Harvey

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