Artificial intelligence (AI) server maker Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) is seeking to raise as much as US$2.19 billion from a sale of global depositary shares, in an offering that could be the biggest Taiwanese stock sale in 19 years.
The Nvidia Corp partner is offering 49 million securities at US$43.91 to US$44.77 apiece, according to terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News.
That reflects a 6 to 7.8 percent discount to the company’s closing share price of NT$309.50 yesterday in Taipei.
Photo courtesy of Quanta Computer Inc
Quanta is tapping the market just as investors are rotating out of chip shares amid growing skepticism over whether massive AI spending can deliver sufficient returns. The company’s shares have advanced nearly 16 percent over the past year, lagging behind the roughly 73 percent advance in Taiwan’s benchmark TAIEX.
Even so, the deal extends the wave of capital raising by Taiwanese companies along the AI supply chain. Earlier this month, Unimicron Technology Corp (欣興電子), an Nvidia supplier, raised US$1.36 billion from a sale of global depositary shares.
Quanta’s issuance of global depositary shares also comes after the pipeline for convertible bonds — a popular instrument among Taiwanese companies seeking to fund the infrastructure needs of the AI boom — faced challenges amid volatility in foreign-exchange markets. The swings have hampered hedging structures typically embedded in such offerings, people familiar with the matter have said.
Still, Nvidia server maker Wiwynn Corp (緯穎科技) in March sold US$2 billion in bonds that can be converted into stock.
Quanta plans to use proceeds from the sale to buy raw materials in foreign currencies, the terms showed.
The deal would be the largest offering of Taiwanese shares in US dollar terms since Royal Philips NV sold US$2.56 billion of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (台積電) American depositary receipts in 2007.
With the offering, Quanta and certain shareholders, directors and executive officers are subject to a 90-day lockup. Citigroup Inc and UBS Group AG are arranging the transaction.
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