China Pac. Ins. Grp Prices $3.1B IPO

China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co. Ltd.'s $3.1 billion initial public offering in Hong Kong delivered Carlyle Group a healthy paper profit of 6 times its total investment.
The insurer's stock rose slightly in its market debut Wednesday to close at HK$28.30 ($3.65). It had priced its IPO at HK$28 a share.
The company provides life and property and casualty insurance products to individuals and institutions throughout China.
It bills itself as the third largest Chinese life insurer based on gross written premiums and captured 9% of the country's market last year, according to the prospectus.
As for property and casualty insurance, it said it ranked second and third, respectively, with a roughly 11.5% share of each market last year.
Carlyle has held a minority stake in the Shanghai company for four years, first investing RMB3.3 billion (then $410 million) in 2005. It later injected additional capital, bringing the firm's total investment to $800 million, according to a source.
Caryle didn't say sell any shares in the IPO, but the value of its money has soared by 6 times to around $4.8 billion on paper, the source said.
The firm's pre-IPO stake of 17.3% will be diluted as result of the offering, and investment is now subject to a one-year lock-up agreement, this person added.
The underwriters for the Hong Kong listing are UBS, Credit Suisse Group, China International Capital Corp. Ltd. and Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Carlyle employs both a buyout and growth equity strategy in Asia. In late June, it unveiled a $1.04 billion fund focused on high-growth companies in China, India, South Korea and other Asian markets.
The new pool, Carlyle Asia Growth Partners IV, revealed in November that it sank more than $60 million in three separate Chinese businesses: ship components and marine- and port-structures manufacturer Nantong Rainbow Heavy Industry Co. Ltd., China Agritech Co. Ltd. and tourism services provider iTour Co. Ltd.
In September, Carlyle agreed to buy a 17.3% stake in one of China's biggest makers of infant formula, Guangdong Yashili Group Co. Ltd.