BRIEF: Pony.ai drops 7.7% in Nasdaq debut

Shares of robotaxi operator Pony.ai (PONY.US) fell 7.7% in their Nasdaq trading debut on Wednesday, after the company raised $260 million by selling 20 million American depositary shares (ADS) priced at $13, the top of their range. Including another $153.4 million raised through a concurrent private placement, Pony.ai secured about $413.4 million from the IPO.

The stock rose 19% early in the trading session, before reversing course to end down 7.7% when the market closed.

Pony.ai initially planned to offer 15 million ADSs but expanded the offering to 20 million due to strong demand. According to Bloomberg sources, Uber (UBER.US) was among the companies interested in investing.

The underwriters have been granted a 30-day overallotment option to purchase up to an additional 3 million ADSs. If fully exercised, the total funds raised could increase to approximately $452.4 million. Pony.ai’s competitor WeRide (WRD.US) raised $440 million through its own IPO and a similar concurrent placement in late October.

By Lee Shih Ta

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