BPPL Holdings to commission 2 energy plants in March
Brush manufacturer BPPL Holdings Ltd of the Beira Group which is slated to go public in March says that part of the reason to list is to fund its potential acquisitions. The IPO to be opened to the public on March 7 is the first IPO in seven months at Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), the last being the Amana Takaful IPO in July 2016.
Listing on the (CSE) will make it easier for them raise more cash through the capital market and to buy new firms, Beira Group CEO Dr. Anush Amarasinghe told the Business Times.
"We are looking actively at other acquisitions but we haven't found anything as yet," he added saying that going public will help them expand and secure more acquisitions in related sectors by raising funds.
The company whose major market is the US has already cottoned on to some big plans. "We will commission a 200 kilo watt (KW) bio-mass plant next month which will be fuelled by the off cuts from the wood supply in our existing operation to power that plant," Dr. Amarasinghe said. A 347 KW solar power plant will also be commissioned next month. The company will be listing 10 per cent of its stock on the second board of the CSE next month with the offering of 30.69 million shares for Rs. 12 per share.
Dr. Amarasinghe said that they will set up a Rs. 675 million expansion and also build a factory to make polyester yarn which will be supplied to garment manufacturers. This will help save the country many dollars, he said noting that now the garment exporters import them. "It's manufactured with discarded plastic bottles. So, it'll help the environment. It'll substitute imports and also help them to be more competitive unlike when importing yarn which will involve longer lead times, higher inventory costs that diminish their competitiveness."
The global brush export market is worth US$ 6.5 billion and the Beira Group is the largest producer in the Southeast Asian region. BPPL will be accessing the South East Asian nations – Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Philippines by next year. “We will be going for retailers and households and we’re engaging with global offices of retail chains. We feel confident in meeting their demand, given our capacity for expansion and upgraded efficiencies,” Dr. Amarasinghe said.
The current shareholders are Infinity Capital ( Pvt) Ltd., LOLC Investments Ltd and Hirdaramani Investment Holdings with stakes of 50.3 per cent, 26.3 per cent and 13.4 per cent of the shares in Beira Group, respectively.
When the IPO is launched, this shareholding will be locked in for a period of one year ( meaning no party can sell the stake for a year). This is with the exception of Hirdaramani Investment Holdings which will be divesting 10 per cent of its stake for the IPO as a part of its long-term exit strategy.