China Lodging Group, a leading economy hotel chain in China, filed on Friday with the SEC to raise up to $50 million in an initial public offering. The chain offers three hotel products (HanTing Express, HanTing Seasons and HanTing Hi Inn) that target distinct customer segments and comprises 236 hotels across 39 cities in China. The company is based in Shanghai and was incorporated in 2007; its subsidiaries commenced operations under Powerhill Holdings Limited in 2005. China Lodging Group booked $185 million in sales for the year ended December 2009 and plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol HTHT. The last economy hotel chain in China to go public, 7 Days Group Holdings (SVN), listed on the NYSE and is up almost 11% from its IPO price. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the lead underwriters on the China Lodging Group deal, for which pricing terms and timing were not disclosed.
