Rundong Auto to raise $300m in HK listing

HONG KONG, Feb 9 (Reuters): China's Rundong Automobile Group, backed by private equity firm KKR & Co LP, plans to raise up to $300 million through a Hong Kong-listing in the first half of 2014, IFR said.

The car dealership company in eastern China joins a number of mainland peers targeting Hong Kong listings to fund expansion after a pick-up in China's automobile demand in 2013.

KKR invested an undisclosed amount in Rundong Auto in 2010. The Jiangsu Province-based company operates more than 50 dealerships, featuring brands like BMW and Land Rover, IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication said.

Rundong Auto is the third car dealer looking at a Hong Kong float this year. China Grand Automotive Services, the country's largest car dealer in terms of sales, plans to raise up to $1 billion in Hong Kong in the first half of the year.

Shaanxi-based Sunfonda Group, a dealership of Audi cars, also plans to raise about $100 million in a Hong Kong IPO in the first quarter.