China's Meituan Seeks $10 Billion War Chest for Drones and Driverless Cars

The Hong Kong-listed company is selling as much as $7 billion of stock and $3 billion of convertible bonds, according to a term sheet Monday that was seen by The Wall Street Journal. The huge capital-raising is considerably bigger than the $4.2 billion Meituan raised in its 2018 initial public offering and suggests there is still a healthy appetite among investors for stock in Chinese technology companies, even though shares in Meituan and many peers have pulled back recently. Earlier this month, Prosus NV raised $14.6 billion by selling down a small part of its stake in Tencent Holdings Ltd., the internet and videogaming giant. Meituan plans to use some of the net proceeds on projects such as researching and developing autonomous delivery vehicles, drone deliveries and other cutting-edge technology, the term sheet said. In a separate statement Monday, the company unveiled a new generation of self-driving delivery cars that it said were smarter and safer than previous versions, with a longer battery life and capable of carrying heavier loads.