Hillhouse-Backed Cowell Picks Banks for Hong Kong IPO

Pei Li, Bloomberg News

Signage for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. (HKEx) during the listing ceremony for the CSOP Bitcoin Futures and CSOP Ether Futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong, China, on Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. A pair of Hong Kong ETFs investing in Bitcoin and Ether futures raised $79 million as the city pushes ahead with a plan to become a crypto hub even as the sector globally reels from the FTX collapse. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Cowell Health, a Chinese drugstore chain backed by Hillhouse Capital, has selected banks for its Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise more than $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Haitong International Securities Group Ltd. are working on the potential share sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. A listing could happen as soon as in the second half of this year, one of the people said.

Deliberations are ongoing and more banks could be added, the people said. The size of the IPO could still change given the recent market volatility, they added. Representatives for Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Hillhouse declined to comment, while representatives for Cowell and Haitong didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Founded in 2017, Cowell operates more than 10,000 pharmacies in over 20 provinces in China, according to its website. It has obtained licenses for so-called “internet hospitals” in four cities including Tianjin and Chengdu where patients can get treatments and prescriptions online.