The IPO Buzz: Pony AI (PONY Proposed) Upsizes IPO by 33 Percent to Raise $240 Million

Pony AI (PONY Proposed) bolted onto the IPO runway early today by upsizing its IPO by a third – or 33.3 percent – to raise $240 million – up from $180 million under the original terms – assuming IPO pricing at $12.00, the mid-point of its price range, according to an F-1/A filing dated Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. Pony AI’s upsized IPO is expected to price next week. (Before today’s news on the upsizing, the deal had been expected to price tonight.) This is a  NASDAQ listing.

The Chinese self-driving car technology company – known for its robotaxis and robobuses in China and some select global markets – is now offering 20.0 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) – up from 15.0 million ADS in its original filing – at the same price range of $11.00 to $13.00.

Goldman Sachs (Asia), BofA Securities, Deutsche Bank Securities, Huatai Securities and Tiger Global are the joint book-runners.  

Pony AI, founded in 2016, is highly unprofitable. For the 12 months that ended June 30, 2024, Pony AI reported a net loss of $106.78 million on revenue of about $84.33 million, according to financial statements in the prospectus.

In the IPO filing, Pony AI disclosed that certain cornerstone investors have indicated an interest in buying up to $74.85 million – or about 31.2 percent of the IPO based on mid-point pricing:

Investment Global Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Beijing Automotive Group Co Ltd., is in for $70.35 million of stock in the IPO, and

ComfortDelGro Ventures Pte Ltd. is in for up to $4.5 million of stock in the IPO.

There’s also a concurrent private placement: China’s JSC International Investment Fund is among four “strategic third-party investors” that have agreed to buy another $153.4 million in stock in a concurrent private placement, according to the prospectus.

Guangzhou, China-based Pony AI (PONY Proposed) is developing autonomous driving technology systems for robotaxis and robobuses, according to the prospectus.

Pony AI has partnerships with Toyota and other large OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), the prospectus said.

Pony AI Inc.  runs a fleet of more than 250 robotaxis that are licensed to operate without drivers in four Tier-1 cities in China. Pony AI also runs 190 robotrucks, according to the prospectus. Pony AI also has permits to test its robotaxis in several cities outside China.

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