Taiwan Uni-President’s China unit to raise 4.13 bln hkd in Hong Kong IPO -UPDATE

HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) – Uni-President China Holdings Ltd(220.HK), the mainland unit of Taiwan-based food conglomerate Uni-President Enterprises, aims to raise up to 4.13 bln hkd via the sale of 881.72 mln shares from its planned initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, according to its preliminary prospectus.

The indicative price range for the IPO is 3.75-4.68 hkd per share.
Of the total shares offered, 90 pct will be alloted to institutional investors via an international placement, while the remaining 10 pct will be sold to retail investors.

As of the end of June, the company had expanded its business to include 13 production plants and over 530 sales offices for the manufacture and distribution of more than 300 products across China.

The company said it will use the proceeds from the IPO for its future activities in China including sales, marketing and promotion, business expansion, and strategic investment.

The six cornerstone investors include Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Kwok brothers, Kerry Group chairman Kuok Hock Nien, New World Development chairman Cheng Yu-tung, and Leslie Lee Alexander, the owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets.

The Government of Singapore Investments Corp Ltd (GIC) and Goldman Sachs are the other two cornerstone investors.

The six investors have agreed to subscribe to a total of 120 mln usd worth of shares or 20 mln usd each, Uni-President said.

The company has forecast its net profit to be not less than 411 mln yuan this year, up 181 pct from 146 mln yuan a year earlier.

Retail subscription for Uni-President China will open on Dec 4 with trading of shares expected to begin on Dec 17.

UBS and Morgan Stanley are arranging the IPO.

roby.lau@xfn.com

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