Battery Giant CATL Sells Shares at $61 Apiece in A-share Private Placement

Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) has sold 109.76 million shares at 410 yuan ($61.12) apiece in an A-share private placement, raising 45 billion yuan, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

In August of 2021, CATL issued a share sale plan intended to raise 58.2 billion yuan, setting a new record among A-shares that year, also arousing market interest. In November, CATL lowered the fundraising amount to 45 billion yuan.

According to the recent announcement, a total of 42 investors participated in the subscription, among which the highest bid was Oriental Patron Asset Management Co., Ltd., while the lowest bid was Nuode Asset Management Co., Ltd.

In the end, 22 investors were allocated CATL’s shares. The investor who received the most was Guotai Junan Securities, with 11.3754 million shares worth 4.664 billion yuan.

CATL has said that it plans to use the proceeds for the production and upgrading of lithium-ion battery manufacturing in four Chinese cities, as well as for R&D.

According to data from Gaogong Lithium, the expected global shipments of power and energy storage batteries in 2025 will be about 1516GWh. Based on CATL’s current market share of 30%, the company’s shipments in 2025 are expected to be 455GWh.

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According to the firm’s annual report, at the end of 2021, total monetary funds were 89.072 billion yuan and its net operating cash flow was 42.908 billion yuan. CATL is also defending its competitive position through technological innovation. Wu Kai, the chief scientist of CATL, said recently that its CTP 3.0 battery, also known as Kirin battery, will be released soon. CTP technology can improve the energy density of battery packs, simplifying manufacturing processes and saving costs.