Thai Beverage is considering an initial public offering (IPO) of its brewery business, in what could be the biggest listing in Singapore in close to a decade.
ThaiBev's shares were put on a trading halt after the midday trading break yesterday, pending an announcement, after the stock rose 5.2 per cent on heavy volume.
The Singapore-listed firm, controlled by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, is speaking with potential advisers about listing the brewery unit next year and may seek a valuation of as much as US$10 billion (S$13.7 billion), people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.
A deal could include its beer assets in Thailand and Vietnam, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. ThaiBev confirmed it is weighing an IPO, without disclosing details like valuation or listing venue.
Meanwhile, sources told Reuters that ThaiBev is planning a Singapore IPO of some of its regional beer assets in a float that could raise US$2 billion to US$3 billion next year.
The firm is working with Bank of America, Citigroup, DBS, HSBC and Morgan Stanley on a potential IPO, according to two sources.
A Singapore IPO of just over US$2 billion would make it the biggest in the city-state in about six years, while an issue of more than US$3 billion would rank as the largest since 2010, according to Refinitiv data.
At a valuation of US$10 billion, the unit will also rank among the region's biggest beer companies like China's Tsingtao Brewery Co, although still far smaller than Budweiser Brewing Co, the Asian unit of beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev. Budweiser Brewing raised US$5 billion in September in Hong Kong and was the world's fourth-biggest IPO of this year.
Citigroup, HSBC and Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the banks' participation in the deal, while Bank of America and DBS did not immediately respond.
ThaiBev is best known for producing Chang, a lager. It also brews Archa beer and the German-inspired Federbrau brand.
Shares of ThaiBev have risen 43 per cent in Singapore trading this year up till Thursday, giving the company a market value of about US$16 billion.
Apart from the brewery business, ThaiBev runs distilleries that produce liquor including SongSam rum, Meridian brandy and Drummer whisky.
It owns about 28.5 per cent of Singapore's Fraser & Neave, which sells 100Plus soft drinks and Magnolia dairy products, data compiled by Bloomberg shows.
BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
