ThaiBev shares drop after brewery unit’s IPO plans deferred once again

ThaiBev previously halted plans for the IPO in May 2020 due to Singapore's lockdown in the early days of Covid-19. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - Shares of Thai Beverage slumped on Friday (Aug 12) after the company deferred the initial public offering (IPO) of its brewery unit in Singapore once again, citing “prolonged challenging market conditions” for its decision.

The maker of Chang beer fell as much as 4.4 per cent, the biggest decline in more than a year. It said on Thursday that it will continue to monitor market conditions and explore opportunities to maximise shareholder value, including potentially reviewing the proposed spin-off listing “at an appropriate time”.

The announcement comes just months after the firm said it intended to resume the listing of BeerCo - a plan it has shelved multiple times - and conduct a public offering of as much as about 20 per cent of the unit.

ThaiBev, controlled by Thai tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, was seeking about US$800 million to US$1 billion (S$1.1 billion to S$1.37 billion) in the unit’s IPO, people familiar with the matter previously said.

“The hesitation on ThaiBev’s part may be linked to liquidity concerns in this region,” said Mr Nirgunan Tiruchelvam, an analyst at Tellimer in Singapore.

It is “an indictment on the market conditions” rather than a reflection of the operating performance of the beer business, he added.

BeerCo received conditional approval from the Singapore Exchange for a listing and started gauging investor demand for the offering in June.

ThaiBev previously halted plans for the IPO in May 2020 due to Singapore's lockdown in the early days of Covid-19. A second effort was thwarted by the worst wave of the country's outbreak.

The IPO was set to potentially be Singapore's biggest since NetLink NBN Trust's US$1.7 billion offering in 2017, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

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