The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Nov 06, 2012
KL lottery operator to proceed with IPO
After delay over 'weak market', Sports Toto files SGX listing application
By Anita Gabriel Senior Correspondent
MALAYSIAN billionaire Vincent Tan is pressing ahead with a $500 million initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore of his most prized asset - leading Malaysian lottery operator Sports Toto.
After a short delay, blamed on weak market conditions, the listing of the business trust is now slated for Jan 13, The Straits Times understands.
A listing application was lodged with the Singapore Exchange (SGX) last Friday.
Mr Tan, who owns football club Cardiff City and is ranked by Forbes as Malaysia's 10th richest person, had originally aimed to launch the IPO this month.
"That timing was too aggressive. Everything else remains the same," said a source close to the company Mr Tan controls, Berjaya Sports Toto.
Uninspiring market conditions given lingering concerns over Europe's debt crisis, China's slowing economy and a delicate economic recovery in the United States could have also led to the delay, said another source.
Sports Toto is a leading player in the number forecast operations segment, with a 40 per cent market share in Malaysia.
Maybank Kim Eng is the sole financial adviser and issue manager for the deal.
The global underwriters and joint book runners for the deal are Maybank, CIMB and DBS, The Straits Times understands.
Other major IPOs are also shaping up for next year.
Reuters recently reported that Croesus Retail Trust, which has Japan's Marubeni Corp and Daiwa House Industry as strategic partners, was testing investor appetite to list the business trust on SGX next year via an $800 million deal.
Singapore's real estate investment trust (Reit) and business trust space is expected to continue to see a flurry of activity next year, partly driven by investors' appetite for yield plays in a volatile market.
So far this year, Singapore has boasted three new listings of business trusts and Reits - Ascendas Hospitality Trust, Far East Hospitality Trust and more recently, India's Fortis-backed Religare Health Trust.
But there was one major dim spot. On Oct 24, Singapore's much awaited first yuan-denominated real estate investment trust Dynasty pulled the plug on plans to raise 5.4 billion yuan (S$1.06 billion).
The trust's sponsor Ara Asset Management, an affiliate of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka Shing's Cheung Kong Group, cited weak market conditions for the decision.
Some recent IPOs have fared disappointingly as well.
Religare Health Trust and retailer Courts Asia, both of which listed last month, are trading below their offer prices.
Religare closed at 83 cents yesterday, below its offer price of 90 cents per share, while Courts Asia closed at 67 cents, below its IPO price of 77 cents.
The SGX may be only too eager to bid farewell to this year given the choppy IPO pipeline which nevertheless was peppered with some mega listings, the biggest involving Malaysian-controlled IHH Healthcare in July this year which raised US$2.1 billion (S$2.57 billion).
In April, hotel trust M&L Hospitality Trust decided to shelve its $460 million IPO after an international roadshow signalled weak investor appetite for its shares.
Other big-ticket listings such as Formula One and India's Reliance Communications' GTI Trust have also failed to materialise.
The market may be flush with liquidity but investor sentiment has stayed weak and highly selective given the weak global macro situation.
anitag@sph.com.sg