Hong Kong fibre operator HKBN has proposed an IPO that could net just over US$860m if priced at the top of its range with a fully used over-allotment option.
Underwriters expect to grant a greenshoe option representing roughly 15% of the size of the…
Hong Kong fibre operator HKBN has proposed an IPO that could net just over US$860m if priced at the top of its range with a fully used over-allotment option.
Underwriters expect to grant a greenshoe option representing roughly 15% of the size of the base offering, which as reported earlier consists of about 645 million shares at HK$8-9 each.
The company will not receive any proceeds from the listing and expects to announce the final offer price on 11 March, a day before the shares begin trading on the main board of Hong Kong’s stock exchange.
“We are excited to take the next step in our corporate development and are proud to be listing in Hong Kong, our home,” said HKBN CEO William Yeung.
TelecomFinance understands that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has committed US$200m to be the deal’s cornerstone investor.
HKBN and the company’s majority owner CVC Capital Partners declined to comment.
CVC owns 70.7% of the group, after buying 100% of it back in May 2012 for around HK$5bn in one of Hong Kong’s largest leveraged buyouts. Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC holds a stake of just over 11% and Carlyle’s AlpInvest Partners unit owns around 8%.
Rothschild is financial adviser for the operator’s IPO, with Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and UBS acting as joint sponsors, joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners. CLSA and HSBC were listed as joint bookrunners, and Bank of East Asia, BNP Paribas and Sun Hung Kai Financial as co-lead managers.
HKBN said it has invested roughly HK$4.1bn (US$529m) in fixed assets over the last 14 years to become Hong Kong’s biggest residential fibre broadband services provider, with a 53.7% market share.
According to the Media Partners Asia consultancy, it is also the second largest residential broadband internet service provider in Hong Kong, with a 34.2% market share as at 31 August 2014.
The group’s revenue grew to HK$2.1bn (US$270.7m) for the year ended 31 August 2014, compared with HK$1.9bn (US$245m) for the corresponding period in 2013. EBITDA increased to HK$740.6m (US$95.5m), compared with HK$845.3m (US$109m) the year before.