Farm Price IPO Oversubscribed by 91.35 Times

Farm Price Holdings Bhd, which is scheduled for a listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Securities on May 14, has seen its initial public offering (IPO) oversubscribed by 91.35 times.

The Johor-based wholesaler and distributor of fresh vegetables, food and beverage (F&B) products and other groceries said the IPO comprised of 450 million ordinary shares, featuring a public issue of 102 million new shares at an issue price of 24 sen per share.

A total of 16,647 applications for 2.074 billion issue shares with a value of RM498.66mil were received from the Malaysian public, representing an overall oversubscription rate of 91.35 times.

For the Bumiputera portion, a total of 9,895 applications for 1.03 billion issue shares were received, representing an oversubscription rate of 90.61 times.

As for the public portion, a total of 6,752 applications for 1.04 billion issue shares were received, representing an oversubscription rate of 92.08 times.

The 11.25 million shares available for application by eligible directors and employees, as well as persons who have contributed to the success of the company, have been fully subscribed.

Meanwhile, the private placement of 68.25 million shares and 33 million offer shares made available for application by way of private placement to selected investors have also been fully placed out.

“We are deeply humbled by the strong reception for our IPO. This reflects the public’s confidence in the fundamentals and prospects of Farm Price. With the IPO funds, we are poised to accelerate our expansion plans to capitalise on the growth opportunities within the fresh vegetable industry,” managing director Tiong Lee Chian said in a statement.

“To further solidify our position as a key player in fresh produce distribution and drive further growth, our future plans include expanding our Senai Centralised Distribution Centre from a built-up area of 78,721 sq. ft. to 149,548 sq. ft., purchase of machinery, equipment and logistics fleet, establishing additional regional distribution centres in Negeri Sembilan and Pahang, as well as setting up a sales and marketing office in Singapore.”

Alliance Islamic Bank Bhd is the principal adviser, sponsor, sole underwriter and placement agent for the IPO exercise.