Bangkok Airways to raise upto Bt14 bn via IPO
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Bangkok Airways plans to raise Bt11.9 billion to Bt14 billion from the stock market to expand its fleet and facilities at airports in Bangkok and Koh Samui.
“The increase in capital will help strengthen our financial capability and support future growth and expansion,” president Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth said yesterday.
Subscription to its IPO shares would be open to retail investors from October 14-17. The company expects to disclose the final offer price on October 17 in the Bt23-Bt27 range.
It would be the biggest IPO on the Stock Exchange of Thailand this year to date.
The major part of the proceeds – about Bt9 billion – would be used to increase its fleet or replace existing planes. The boutique airline owns 25 aircraft and expects to have 43 by 2018.
It is also set to invest about Bt2.5 billion in an aircraft maintenance centre, including spare parts, at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Samui Airport is scheduled to expand at a cost of Bt1 billion. Cash of Bt3 billion will be used to repay debt. The rest will be cashflow.
Bualuang Securities has been appointed as the financial adviser for the IPO. The lead underwriters are Bualuang Securities, Citigroup Global Market, Credit Suisse (Singapore) and DBS Bank, while the six co-underwriters are KT ZMICO Securities, CIMB Securities (Thailand), Thanachart Security, Asia Plus Securities, Kasikorn Security Plc and SCB Securities.
Following the IPO, the Prasarttong-Osoth family will remain the majority shareholder at 62 per cent, partially diluted from more than 90 per cent now.
About 80 per cent of revenue would still come from the airline unit, Bangkok Airways, 13 per cent from services at Suvarnabhumi Airport and 7 per cent from catering and the cargo business.
Last year, Bangkok Airways earned Bt990 million on more than Bt10 billion in revenue. However, during the first half this year, although it performed as well as last year, profit dropped to Bt200 million due to increasing operating costs and other expenses.
