Billionaire Richard Li's FWD Group jumped 10% in Hong Kong grey market.

The deal is FWD's third attempt to go public after it initially aimed for a New York IPO in 2021 to raise $2-$3 billion.

The insurance group shelved the plan due to lengthy delays in obtaining U.S. regulatory approval. FWD faced questions from the U.S. regulators on its mainland China ties, Reuters reported citing sources, and had been treated by authorities as a Chinese business rather than a Hong Kong entity.

FWD then targeted a Hong Kong IPO in 2022 but put those plans on hold due to volatile global financial markets at the time.

FWD raised about $1.8 billion in private funding rounds in 2021 and 2022 which valued the business at around $9 billion, Reuters reported at the time.

The company made a $10 million net profit in 2024, according to its prospectus, compared to a $717 million loss the prior year.