Felda Global to kick-start book-building from May 31

by **hlk** Tue 22 May 2012, 20:01

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): The book-building process of Malaysia'sFelda Global Ventures Holdings' over US$3 billion listing will begin on May 31 and end on June 15, a source with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters on Tuesday.
The book-building process will bring the world's No.3 palm plantation operator a step closer to its planned initial public offering (IPO) slated for end-June, the second largest so far after Facebook's $16 billion IPO last week.
Another source said the price range for institutional investors hasn't been fixed yet but the maximum will be 4.65 ringgit a share, the indicative price at which cornerstone investors are offered.
The second source said AIA Group, Malaysian pension fund Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen, Malaysian Haj Pilgrims Fund, or Lembaga Tabung Haji will also be cornerstones in the IPO.
Both sources declined to be named as the discussions are private.
Felda Global officials could not be reached for comment.
Reuters reported on May 16 that Felda's IPO had attracted cornerstones such as Louis Dreyfus, Fidelity Investments, Hong Kong's Value Partners Malaysian tycoon Quek Leng Chan, Malaysia's state-owned Permodalan Nasional and the Employees Provident Fund.
The IPO consists of 2.19 billion shares, including a public issue of 980 million shares and an offer for sale of 1.21 billion shares, according to Felda Global's draft prospectus filed on April 27.
The listing could be one of the first after national elections that are expected to be held within weeks.
Plans to list Felda Global sparked resistance from some of the 113,000 farmers who own part of the company and fear a loss of control in an asset in which they've invested for generations.
A legal challenge they filed has been dismissed and the listing was recently approved by the farmers' cooperative.
The investment arms of CIMB Group Holdings, Malayan Banking andMorgan Stanley are the joint global coordinators for Felda Global's listing, while JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank are joint book runners