** U.S.-listed shares of VNET Group VNET.O down 10.3% premarket to $9.87 as co seeks capital raise
** Beijing-based firm commenced offering of $400 mln 5-yr convertible bonds (CBs)
** Co plans to use net offering proceeds to invest in wholesale internet data center projects, working capital and general purposes
** Investment giant Blackstone BX.N made a $150 mln investment in VNET (formerly 21Vianet) in 2020 via a private placement, and in 2022 bought $250 mln of its CBs
** Blackstone is VNET's 2nd largest shareholder with ~10.4 mln shares, or ~4% stake, as of Dec 31, per LSEG data
** VNET has ~263.2 mln shares outstanding for $2.9 bln market cap
** Goldman Sachs sole bookrunner for the offering
** VNET shares ended 2024 at $4.74 and closed a year ago at $1.95
(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))
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