Chinese Data Center Firm Makes IPO

Chinese data center services provider 21Vianet Group Inc. raised $195 million in its iniital public offering yesterday on U.S. markets, selling more shares than planned for a price $2 above the proposed range, according to Reuters.

21Vianet sold 13 million American depositary shares for $15 each, raising $195 million, an underwriter said. The company had planned to sell 12.5 million ADSs at $12 to $13 each -- already an increase from 11.5 million ADSs and the price range of $10 to $12 per ADS it had originally proposed.

Shares of 21Vianet are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange Thursday under the symbol VNET (VNET.O). 21Vianet plans to use the proceeds from the IPO to expand its data center and network infrastructure, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company, which says is the largest of its kind in China by revenue, has been operating at a loss for the past three years. It hosts servers and networking equipment, also tapping the hot cloud computing market.