Category: Finance
Bank of Jiujiang seeks to raise US$500 million IPO in Hong Kong
Bank of Jiujiang, a lender in eastern China’s Jiangxi province, plans to raise a US$500 million initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Based in a city on the southern banks of the Yangtze River, the Bank of Jiujiang has already begun reaching out to investment banks about the potential listing, in which is scheduled to list in the second half of 2017.
The lender’s move in seeking a Hong Kong listing follows other regional banks, which includes Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank Co. and Jilin Jiutai Rural Commercial Bank Corp., and is aimed to boost its profile and raise funds for expansion.
According to data compiled by Bloomberg Show, financial institutions have completed US$18.2 billion of first-time share sales in the city last year, accounting for 72 percent of fundraising from new listings in 2016.
Founded in 2000 and operating as an urban commercial bank, Jiujiang Bank currently has 12 branches in China, with 10 of its branches located in the Jiangxi Province while 2 are situated in Guangzhou.
Backers of the Bank of Jiujiang includes the local government, state-owned Beijing Automotive Group Co. and Industrial Bank Co. The lender’s net income fell 0.6 percent in 2015 to 1.78 billion yuan (about US$257 million), according to its annual report.
Details of the IPO are still in deliberations, and there is no certainty that this potential listing will lead to a share sale.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
Indian Aurobindo Pharma acquires Portugal’s Generis for Rs 970 crore in a bid to boost margins in Europe
Aurobindo Pharma Ltd announced on Saturday that it has acquired Portuguese pharmaceutical company Generis Farmaceutica SA from Magnum Capital Partners for approximately Rs 969 crore (approximately 135 million euros).
The binding agreement for this acquisition was inked through the Aurobindo Pharma’s wholly-owned subsidiary Agile Pharma BV based in Netherlands.
“The acquisition of Generis, by leveraging its strong portfolio and unrivaled brand recognition will allow us to establish ourselves as top generics player in the Portuguese market,” Aurobindo SVP European Operations, V Muralidharan said.
Generis produces and sells pharma products in Portugal which serve Aurobindo Pharma’s aim at increasing the profitability of its European operation, whereby Aurobindo Pharma estimates that the net sales with its acquired businesses will be approximately 72 million euros in 2017, compared to the 64.8 million euros in 2016.
In addition, the adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EDITDA) estimate for 2016 is 12.7 million euros, which is projected to improve to 15.8 million euros in 2017, Aurobindo Pharma said.
However, the real benefit of this acquisition can only be realised if Aurobindo can drive up its scale of operations and perform synergies to lower costs.
“The combined entity will benefit from a robust pipeline covering all major molecules coming off-patent in the next five years. The acquisition includes a state of the art manufacturing facility based in Portugal, which will allow us to better serve both the local Portuguese market and the broader European market, particularly with regard to small volume products and also to meet timelines for low lead time tenders,” V. Muralidharan explains.
As per details of the acquisition, the deal involves Generis’s manufacturing facility in Amadora, Portugal which has the capacity to produce 1.2 billion tablets, capsules and sachets annually.
“This deal consolidates Aurobindo’s footprint in Portugal, which currently consists of Aurovitas, Unipessoal LDA, and Unipessoal Limitada. The consolidated APL group will rank number one in the Portuguese generic pharma market, and will have the largest generic product portfolio consisting of 271 products,” said Muralidharan.
“This acquisition coupled with our past acquisition activity underlies our commitment to focus on growth initiatives in European markets and will be a key driver of growth for the future,” he further adds.
Aurobindo Pharma manufactures generic pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. The company’s product portfolio is spread over 7 major therapeutic/product areas encompassing Antibiotics, Anti-Retrovirals, CVS, CNS, Gastroenterologicals, Anti-Allergies and Anti-Diabetics which is marketed globally in over 150 countries.
“Generis will benefit immensely from Aurobindo’s vertical integration and strong product pipeline,” Paulo Lilaia, the CEO of Generis said. “Our large portfolio along with our unmatched commercial presence in Portugal will allow Aurobindo to consolidate its market position in Portugal.”
Closing the transaction, Aurobindo Pharma has received the shareholder approval to raise Rs 2,100 crore through a sale of shares which is intended to use for the acquisition. However, the deal remains to be conditional depending on obtaining the necessary approvals from the Portuguese authorities.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
Hathway Cable Unit GTPL Hathway files papers for IPO to raise US$45 million
Cable TV and broadband internet services provider Hathway Cable & Datacom Ltd has intimated a potential initial public offering (IPO) listing on Monday where the company is looking to raise Rs 300 crore (approximately US$45 million).
The IPO filing of Draft Red Herring Prospectus was completed by its material subsidiary, GTPL Hathway Pvt. Ltd with the Securities and Exchange Board of India as well as with both the Stock Exchanges, i.e. BSE Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited.
The GTPL Hathway IPO was approved by the Hathaway’s board since August 2016.
As per details of the draft prospectus, the company notes that its IPO will seek to raise funds for GTPL through a fresh issue of equity shares while giving an option to existing GTPL shareholders to sell their holdings.
Offering cable TV and broadband services, GTPL Hathway is one of the largest cable television operators in India, found in several cities which includes Pune, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata.
Despite being one of the many subsidiaries and partnerships owned by the listed Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited, GTPL Hathway is arguably one of its most profitable associations as well as one of the largest contributors to Hathway’s consolidated numbers across major financial and operational parameters.
On the other hand, Hathway’s own cable TV operations span across almost 140 cities, alongside their broadband service which is provided in 21 cities across the country.
At present, Hathway has approximately 1.4 million broadband customers base which the company claims to constitutes approximately 52% of the total cable broadband market in India.
Besides Hathway, who owns a 50% stake of GTPL Hathway, other major shareholders include co-founders – Aniruddhasinhji Jadeja and Kanaksinh Rana – who owns a direct 14.6% alongside another indirect 29.1% through shareholding entity Gujarat Digi Com Private Limited and 5.2 per cent shares of GTPL respectively.
Shares of Hathaway Cable & Datacom Ltd was last trading in BSE at Rs, 34.55, which shows a Rs 0.25 increase as compared to the previous close of Rs34.30. The total number of shares traded during the day was 12593 in over 88 trades.
The stock hit an interday high of Rs 34.74 and intraday low of 34.25. The net turnover during the day was Rs.434100
The demerger will be subjected to requisite approvals from the shareholders, creditors, high courts, DoT, stock exchanges, Sebi and other applicable regulatory authorities.
The company has hired JM Financial Institutional Securities Ltd, BNP Paribas, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Pvt. Ltd and Yes Securities (India) Ltd to manage the initial share sale.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
Tiger Brokers raises US$29 million Series B funding round backed by CITIC Goldstone, Huagai Capital
Beijing-based online brokerage firm Tiger Brokers Co. on Wednesday has successfully raised US$29 million for its Series B funding round, which was participated by CITIC GoldStone Fund Management Co., Ltd. and Huagai Capital.
Existing investors including Zhen Fund and China Renaissance K2 Ventures have also participated in the round, which is worth 200 million yuan (about US$29 million).
This funding round follows the financing back in September 2015 where Tiger Brokers secured an RMB 100 million (about US$16 million) round backed by Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc.
Founded in June 2014, Tiger Broker, through its web securities and transaction platform, provides brokerage services for Chinese investors that wish to invest in securities abroad, particularly stocks listed on the U.S. and Hong Kong exchanges.
In addition to access to China A-shares, as well as U.S. and Hong Kong stocks, Tiger Brokers also support transactions involving securities margin trading in addition to 13,000 U.S. stocks, share options, and ETF products.
“We invested in Tiger Brokers in its angel round because we believe in its objective of serving the trading needs of the global Chinese investors,” said the managing partner at China Renaissance K2 Ventures, Li Li.
Following the deal, Mainland China’s CITIC Securities Co., Ltd., the brokerage arm of the biggest state-owned financial conglomerate and parent of CITIC GoldStone, will also serve as a mentor to Tiger Brokers, providing strategic advice on the company’s growth moving forward.
The company aims to use the latest proceeds on technology infrastructure upgrade, big data development, user experience improvement as well as new business initiatives.
“Growth in securities trading apps is an inevitable trend, in tandem with the accelerating popularity of smartphones and driven by the demand by Asia-based investors for a more globally diversified allocation of their assets,” Tiger Brokers CEO, Wu Tianhua said.
“Our goal is to make Tiger Trade the app of choice for any Chinese speaking investor with an international investment portfolio,” Wu further adds.
The international securities startups also announced last week about its plans to advance its online brokerage services into Singapore, which provides investors with an opportunity to access to low-commission cross-border investment choices.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
SATS to acquire 10% stake in Evergreen Sky Catering Corp for US$22.3 million from Malaysia Airlines
Airport services group SATS has entered into a conditional share sale agreement with Malaysia Airlines in acquiring a 10 percent stake in their in-flight meals caterer Evergreen Sky Catering Corporation (ESCC).
As per details of the agreement, SATS will be acquiring 11 million ordinary shares in the capital of Evergreen Sky Catering for RM100 million (about US$22.3 million), adding to its originally owned 16.5 million ordinary shares which represent 15 percent in ESCC.
Following the acquisition, the Singapore-listed SATS would now own 27.5 million ordinary shares in the capital of ESCC, which represents 25 percent of the total issued ordinary shares in the capital of ESCC.
With this, ESCC would also become an associated company of SATS, the provider of gateway and food solutions announced during its filing at the Singapore stock exchange on Tuesday.
Commenting on the deal, SATS said, “The proposed acquisition is in line with the company’s strategy of growing the scale of its food business and enhancing its connectivity to better serve its customers across key airports in Asia.”
The acquisition is not expected to have any material impact on the company’s net tangible assets per share and consolidated earning per share for the current financial year.
Shares of SATS closed at S$0.02 cents higher at S$4.85 on Tuesday.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media