Fosun International Ltd. is raising as much as HK$10.85 billion ($1.39 billion) in an initial public offering (IPO) whose investors include Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, said people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The Shanghai-based company, whose businesses range from steel to financial services, is offering 1.25 billion shares in Hong Kong at HK$6.48 to HK$8.68 each, the three people said, declining to be identified as the information isn't public.

Fosun co-founder Guo Guangchang's bets on companies such as Shanghai Forte Land Co and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co have made him China's ninth-richest man, with an estimated fortune of $1.5 billion. Guo typically borrows to fund purchases, mirroring the approach of buyout companies like Blackstone Group LP, which last week raised $4.1 billion in an IPO.

"This is the China equivalent of Blackstone," said Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities Ltd in Hong Kong. "They have major investments in several very successful listings. The market perception is they have the Midas touch."

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China International Capital Corp, Morgan Stanley and UBS AG are arranging the sale, which may become the third-largest Hong Kong IPO this year at the top end of the pricing range, according to Bloomberg data.

Guo owns 58 percent of Fosun, said a June 15 report by UBS. His stake would be worth $3 billion at the top end of the range, according to Bloomberg News calculations. Guo is the company's chairman.

Eleven corporate investors will split $220 million of shares between them, the people said. They include companies controlled by Hong Kong tycoons Li and Lee Shau-Kee; the Government of Singapore Investment Corp; First State Investments; China Life Insurance Co; and China Pacific Insurance Co, they said.

Fosun invested 20 million yuan ($2.6 million) in property developer Shanghai Forte in 1994, according to the UBS report. As of June 13, that stake was worth $6.1 billion, UBS said. A similar-sized investment in Shanghai Fosun in the same year has since swelled to 7.5 billion yuan, the report said.

The sale of the 20 percent stake values the Shanghai-based company at between 13 and 17 times estimated earnings for 2008, the people said.

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