Singapore, May 19 - Thai Beverage PCL is going forward with its Singapore initial public offering, the island's biggest in more than 10 years, and will stick to its initial price range of S$0.26-S$0.36 per share despite recent market turbulence.
This week's sharp decline in global share prices led ING Investment Management Asia Pacific to scrap a planned equity fund IPO while Pacific Shipping Trust revised down its IPO price to between $0.45 and $0.48 per unit, from $0.50 and $0.52.
Thai Beverage, famous for its Beer Chang and Mekhong whisky, is offering a total of 4.89 billion shares, which would value the IPO at as much as S$1.76 billion ($1.12 billion), the company's final prospectus showed on Friday.
Thai Beverage's IPO would be Singapore's biggest in more than a decade, second only to Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., Southeast Asia's largest phone firm, whose October 1993 IPO was worth S$4.2 billion (about $2.68 at the exchange rate at the time).
Thailand's largest brewer and distiller sought a Singapore listing after failed attempts to go public in Thailand, where it faced wrangling over whether alcohol firms are allowed to list in Thailand.
"ThaiBev is well positioned to capture the growth of its beer and spirits markets as well as growth in complementary markets," the company said in the IPO prospectus.
Half of the Thai Beverage shares sold would be new shares, raising net proceeds of about S$841.5 million, based on the maximum price of S$0.36, or as much as S$1.1 billion if the over-allotment option is fully exercised.
It plans to use the cash raised in its IPO to repay part of its roughly $965.7 million debt.
The remaining shares to be sold are "vendor shares" owned by the family of liquor tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.
Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch are the issue managers for the IPO, as well as the underwriters, together with DBS Bank, according to an amended offering document with the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
DBS is also the lead manager and coordinator for the Singapore offer.
REGIONAL GROWTH
Thai Beverage has 60 percent of the Thai beer market. It owns and operates three breweries and 16 distilleries and plans to expand its capacity to boost sales abroad, especially in neighbouring markets in Cambodia and Laos.
International sales make up less than one percent of the company's total sales.
Thai Beverage earned a net profit of 10.5 billion baht ($278 million) in 2005 on 92.1 billion baht in sales.
At S$0.36 -- the top end of the price range -- Thai Beverage would be trading at roughly 18 times projected earnings, a spokesman for the company said.
Based on that price, the IPO would value the firm at S$8.8 billion ($5.58 billion), or about S$9.1 billion ($5.77 billion) if the over-allotment is fully exercised.
That would dwarf Singapore-listed Asia Pacific Breweries -- maker of Tiger Beer -- which has a market capitalisation of $1.78 billion and trades at 16.7 times its projected earnings.
San Miguel, Southeast Asia's largest food and drinks group and the Philippines' second-largest company, has a market cap of $4.74 billion and trades on a P/E ratio of 21.
The Thai Beverage offer will close on May 23 for the Singapore portion, and a day later for the international portion. Trading in the shares is expected to begin on May 30.