Chinese specialty chemicals producer Chemspec International priced its initial public offering at the top of the indicated range for a total deal size of $72.8 million after attracting pretty strong demand primarily from US funds focusing on small-caps and China.
According to a source, the offering was about 10 times covered and attracted about 175 investors, but in light of the retraction in the secondary market over the past couple of weeks, the company together with its joint bookrunners, Citi and Credit Suisse, decided not to make use of the opportunity to price above the pre-set range. While there were some indications that investors in Asia would be willing to pay slightly more, there was...