Major Chinese dealer group to sell stock
Power Diversity Automobile Trade Co., one of China's largest dealership groups, has received regulatory approval to launch an initial public offering on the Shanghai stock exchange.
The company will issue no more than 1.4 billion shares according to the China Securities Regulatory Commission. At a per-share price of 1 yuan, the stock sale would generate up to 1.4 billion yuan ($213 million).
Power Diversity has yet to set a date for its initial public offering.
The dealer group, which is headquartered in Tangshan city in north China's Hebei province, operates a network of 685 franchised dealerships. It markets a range of international brands such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Volkswagen and Ford.
The company also sells vehicles for domestic companies such as China FAW Group Co., Dongfeng Motor Co., SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co., Changan Automobile Co. and China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co. (Sinotruck).
In the first half of 2010, Power Diversity sold 205,000 vehicles and generated sales revenue of 26 billion yuan.
To date, four Chinese dealership groups have been listed on Chinese or foreign stock exchanges. The China Auto Trading Co. is
listed on the Shanghai exchange; China ZhengTong Auto Services Holdings and Zhongsheng Group Holdings are both listed in Hong Kong; and Lentuo International is listed on the New York stock exchange.
