Astro offers 1.52b shares in IPO

KUALA LUMPUR: Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd, a pay-TV firm, is offering
up to 1.52 billion shares in an initial public offering, an updated
draft prospectus showed today, which could be worth about US$1.75
billion in the country’s third largest listing this year.



The IPO, expected to list by end-September, comes after
high-profile share sales by planter Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd
in June and IHH Healthcare Bhd in July.


Astro, controlled by tycoon Ananda Krishnan, said the offer
represents up to 29.2 per cent of its enlarged paid-up capital, of
which 597.69 million shares or 11.5 per cent will be offered to
indigenous “bumiputera” investors, confirming what a source with direct
knowledge of the matter told Reuters last week.


Another 661.75 million shares or 12.7 per cent will be allocated to
other institutional and selected investors, while 259.865 million
shares or 5 per cent will be offered to retail investors, Astro said.




Reuters reported last week that the IPO shares for
indigenous “bumiputera” investors would be based on an indicative price
of RM3.60 apiece, valuing the indigenous tranche around US$700 million.



Based on that indicative price, the total 1.52 billion shares offered would be worth about RM5.47 billion (US$1.75 billion).



The company has given no information on pricing of the shares, and
an initial draft prospectus released on Aug 8 did not provide any
details on the size of the listing or a time frame for the IPO process.



A separate source with knowledge of the deal said last week that
cornerstone investors were likely to be offered a price similar to the
bumiputera.



Bumiputera, or “sons of the soil”, are majority ethnic Malays and
other indigenous people in Malaysia favoured by a decades-old
government policy in housing, education and business.



Astro’s draft prospectus said it would use 58 percent of the
proceeds for capital expenditure — ranging from investments in new
corporate and technical buildings to additional transponders — while
the remainder would be used to repay bank borrowings, for working
capital and for listing expenses.


Astro hired CIMB as the transaction manager for the listing.


Joint principal advisers are CIMB, Maybank and RHB, according to the prospectus. -- REUTERS