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. 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’s IPO is set to price tonight – Wednesday night, Nov. 20, 2024 – to trade tomorrow – Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024 – on the NASDAQ. 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 41.6 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. (For more information about these companies, please check the IPO Calendar and the individual IPO Profiles found on the IPOScoop.com  website.) Note: Never trade on proposed symbols. They have been known to change and you might buy something on the OTC Bulletin Board. To see what time the NASDAQ IPOs are expected to trade, please log in to: NASDAQTrader.com then scroll down to IPO Message. Disclosure: Nobody on the IPOScoop.com staff has a position in any stocks mentioned above, nor do they trade or invest in IPOs. The IPOScoop.com staff does not issue advice, recommendations or opinions. Disclaimer: A SCOOP Rating (Wall Street Consensus of Opening-day Premiums) is a general consensus taken, at press time, from Wall Street and investment professionals concerning how well an IPO might perform when it starts trading. The SCOOP Rating does not reflect the opinions of anyone associated with IPOScoop.com. The SCOOP ratings should not be taken as investment advice. The rating merely reflects the opinion of the professionals at the time of publication and is subject to last-minute changes due to market conditions, changes in a specific offering and other factors, such as changes in the proposed offering terms and the shifting of investor interest in the IPO. The information offered is taken from sources we believe to be reliable, but we cannot guarantee the accuracy.