CRO

WuXi Biologics guns for $500M Hong Kong IPO

The big China CRO WuXi Biologics is slated for an initial public offering of up to $513 million in Hong Kong.

According to Thomson Reuters, quoting anonymous people "close to the deal,” the booming contract research organization is said to be offering 193 million shares worth between HK$18.60 to HK$20.60 each, valuing the total deal at up to HK$3.98 billion ($513 million). WuXi has not commented on the reports.

Over a year ago, and a few months after taking the company private in a $3.3 billion deal, WuXi CEO Ge Li has was said to be looking to spin out its biologics unit in an IPO that would value the business at $1.5 billion, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Back in January, it posted new legal documents (PDF) confirming its IPO intentions, but with no financial or value details. It did, however, show strong revenue growth and a list of biopharma partners that include AstraZeneca, Roche, Tesaro and J&J.