FWD Group raises $200M in pre-IPO funding

(Reuters) – Asian insurer FWD Group has raised $200 million in new funding ahead of its planned Hong Kong initial public offering, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The sources could not be named as the information had not yet been made public. FWD Group declined to comment.

Two new investors, ORIX Corp and Huatai Securities Co., participated in the private placement, the sources said.

ORIX declined to comment and Huatai did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

The deal means the Richard Li-backed FWD Group has raised $1.6 billion in the past month after the company ditched its U.S. IPO plans.

The first capital raising of $1.4 billion valued FWD Group at $9 billion on a post money basis, sources told Reuters in December.

It now plans to carry out a Hong Kong IPO after it struggled to receive full approval from U.S. regulators to list in New York.

FWD Group had planned to raise $2 billion to $3 billion in the U.S. offering.

The company received preliminary approval in December from the Securities and Exchange Commission to carry out a marketing roadshow to investors, but still needed full sign-off from regulators, sources told Reuters at the time.

FWD has a business presence in 10 Asian markets, according to its website.