GOME Electrical Appliances Holdings Ltd, China's biggest electronics retailer, raised about US$790 million selling shares and bonds to fund expansion plans.

The company raised HK$1.46 billion (US$190 million) selling 110 million new shares at HK$13.30 apiece, it said at the weekend. That was toward the lower end of its price range. Warburg Pincus, a New York-based buyout and venture capital firm, sold a further 90.9 million shares at the same price, said Curt Lam, Gome's head of corporate finance and development.

The retailer, which also raised 4.6 billion yuan (US$600 million) selling bonds, plans to use some of the funds to purchase stores and refurnish outlets, amid intensifying competition from domestic and foreign investors. First-quarter retail sales in China rose 15 percent to 2.1 trillion yuan as the economy expanded a faster-than-expected 11.1 percent.

Gome, based in Beijing, also has an option to raise a further 400 million yuan selling bonds, it said. The bonds, which can be converted into shares, are due to mature in 2014. Gome plans to list the bonds on the Singapore Stock Exchange, it said.

The retailer offered investors 55 million to 110 million new shares at HK$13.25 to HK$13.68 apiece, according to an e-mail sent by the sales arranger, Goldman Sachs Group Inc A copy of the e-mail was given to Bloomberg News.

The sale price was a 6.3 percent discount to May 11's closing price. Gome's Hong Kong-quoted shares rose 4.3 percent to HK$14.2 on May 11. The stock has almost doubled during the past year.

Gome applied to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce last year to buy out its closely held parent's remaining retail operations, President Chen Xiao told reporters in Hong Kong.

Source:佚名