Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s initial public offer (IPO) portion set aside for Bumiputera investors through the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) is priced at RM3.60 per share, according to a newswire report. At an indicative price of RM3.60, Astro stands to raise about RM2.15 billion from the 597.69 million of its shares allocated to Bumiputera investors.
When contacted, bankers involved in the IPO declined to comment on the RM3.60 price but reiterated that the indicative price of Astro will only be formally announced by the end of the month. Advisory banks for the deal are CIMB Investment Bank Bhd, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd and RHB Investment Bank Bhd.
The offer to Bumiputera investors was made available in the middle of last week and will close today. The special Bumiputera allocation for the relisting of the company controlled by tycoon Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan is set to be one of the biggest flotation after the mega listings of Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGVH) and IHH Healthcare Bhd.
In its IPO, FGVH had allocated 420 million or 19.19% of its shares to special Bumiputera investors while IHH set aside 360 million shares or 16.11% to these investors.
Ananda plans to relist Astro All Asia Networks plc by end-September in a deal that would give the pay- TV firm a market capitalisation of up to RM15 billion, according to a newswire report in June. The IPO plan by Ananda, comes on the heels of a RM8.8 billion sale of his power assets and a proposal to hive off a stake in his satellite operator Measat Global Bhd. The Astro IPO is set to join a stable of Ananda-linked publiclisted entities such as Maxis Bhd.
During the IPO exercise, FGVH’s retail price was RM4.45 per share while IHH’s retail price was RM2.85 per share. The IPOs were the largest and second-largest respectively at Bursa Malaysia this year.
Astro offers IPO to Bumiputera investors at RM3.60 a share
