Credit Suisse Group AG has dropped off the initial public offering (IPO) of one of China’s top online healthcare start-ups, dealing a fresh blow to its business taking companies in the region public after the Swiss bank was sued for its role on Luckin Coffee Inc’s (瑞幸咖啡) US share sale.
The Swiss bank is no longer working on the WeDoctor (微醫) deal, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.
Credit Suisse was picked alongside JPMorgan Chase & Co and CMB International to lead the share sale, which was expected to happen before the end of the year, Bloomberg News reported last month.
WeDoctor aims to raise between US$500 million and US$1 billion, a person familiar with the matter has said.
A representative for Credit Suisse declined to comment, while a representative for WeDoctor said that the company is still choosing partners and has not finalized the banks for the share sale.
Credit Suisse’s exit comes at a difficult time for the bank, which last week was hit with a shareholder suit alleging that Luckin Coffee and several underwriters made false and misleading statements that caused its stock price to be inflated.
Credit Suisse was among the coffee chain’s IPO underwriters named in the complaint.
Luckin’s shares have lost almost 80 percent since saying its chief operating officer and some of its employees might have fabricated billions of yuan in sales.
WeDoctor, backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊), joins a growing contingent of tech giants hoping to revolutionize the traditional healthcare industry after the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the shortcomings. The company is on the prowl for expansion capital and this year laid the foundation for a public debut by hiring John Cai (蔡強), formerly chief executive officer for AIA Group Ltd’s operations in markets including China, Malaysia and Vietnam.
The start-up, whose business spans from insurance policies and medical supplies to online appointment-booking and clinics, was valued at about US$5.5 billion in a 2018 funding round.
The Hong Kong IPO market has slowed amid the worst stock market rout in more than 30 years. Companies have raised about US$1.8 billion via first-time share sales in the territory so far this year, a 34 percent drop from the same period a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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