Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, the executive vice-chairman of New World Development and the scion of one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest families, will list his firm on the SIX Swiss exchange in a merger that would give investors a slice of his investments in several Chinese technology companies.
Cheng will sell his unit C Capital to Youngtimers, a special situation investment firm that has been listed since 2000 on the SIX exchange for acquiring assets in media, e-commerce and lifestyle products. After the merger, the Luxembourg-based Youngtimers will be renamed C Capital, with US$700 million in assets under management, according to a statement published by SIX.
C Capital, founded in 2017, has backed more than 60 start-ups, including stakes in the electric car maker Xpeng, the Hong Kong game software company Animoca Brands and the delivery company Lalamove.
Cheng, who turns 45 in November, will become the non-executive chairman of C Capital, responsible for “steering the future direction and operation of the company,” according to the statement. He remains a significant shareholder of the company, according to sources familiar with the matter, without divulging his stake.
Further details such as the transaction value are expected to be published on or before July 31, when Youngtimers is scheduled to hold its shareholders meeting.
The renamed C Capital aims to focus on private-equity investments in the small-to-mid cap equities among the more developed economies of East Asia and selectively in Europe, according to a release.
“Bringing C Capital and its access to investment opportunities in Asia closer to European investors make a great deal of strategic sense to us,” Cheng said in a statement. “We are delighted to take the business of C Capital onto the next level, as a Swiss-listed company with a best-in-class team.”
Once the transaction is complete, the firm will also encompass Jakota Index Portfolios- the index licensing and investment firm covering Japan, Korea and Taiwan capital markets.
Cheng is no stranger to so-called blank cheque companies, also called special purpose acquisition companies (Spacs). Artisan Acquisition, a Spac backed by Cheng, merged with Hong Kong’s genetics testing company Prenetics in 2021 for a listing on the Nasdaq exchange. David Beckham announced last week that he would become a strategic investor in Prenetics to co-launch a new health and wellness brand called IM8.
New World is one of Hong Kong’s largest property developers, with a vast portfolio of apartments, hotels and shopping centres. The company said last month that it had repaid HK$35 billion (US$4.5 billion) in “low-interest and long-tenure” loans and debt since January.
The company secured multiple low-cost new loans to replenish its liquidity and increase the proportion of yuan loans to reduce overall financing costs. The move came as elevated US dollar interest rates have hiked the cost of borrowing in Hong Kong and amid ongoing sluggishness in mainland China’s property markets.
