Bloomberg
Tianhe Chemicals Group, the Chinese lubricant maker backed by Morgan Stanley’s private equity unit, may seek about $1 billion in an initial public offering in Hong Kong next year, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley are among banks working on the offering, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Tianhe Chemicals had planned to sell shares in London, people with knowledge of the matter said in November 2011.
Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia bought a $300 million stake in the Chinese supplier of greases for new cars it said in March, without saying how big a share of Tianhe Chemicals it acquired. Tianhe Chemicals, based in Jinzhou, Liaoning province, supplies Chinese refiners including China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. and PetroChina Co., according to its website.
Officials at the company’s head office in Jinzhou did not immediately respond to phone calls seeking comment on the IPO plan, which was reported by IFR earlier today.