AB InBev Asia unit raises US$5b in HK listing

HONG KONG: Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (AB InBev) raised about US$5 billion (RM20.9 billion) in a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) of the brewer’s Asia-Pacific unit after pricing it at the bottom of a marketed range, as investors backed a deal seen as offering value despite the anti-government protests in the city.

The listing of AB InBev’s subsidiary is the second-biggest globally so far this year, trailing only the US$8.1 billion flotation of Uber Technologies Inc in May, Refinitiv data showed.

AB InBev had cancelled a plan for a bigger IPO of the unit in July that could have raised as much as US$9.8 billion, citing “several factors, including the prevailing market conditions”.

AB InBev said in a statement yesterday the IPO of Budweiser Brewing Co APAC Ltd was priced at HK$27 (RM14.38) a share, the bottom end of the HK$27 to HK$30 indicative range, confirming what sources said earlier.

The IPO included a rare “upsize” option that enabled the Belgium-based brewer to sell up to 36.8 per cent more shares in the offering. That option was partially exercised, it said.

AB InBev’s revived IPO excludes its Australian operations, which it agreed to sell to Japan’s Asahi Group for US$11 billion after the previous IPO was shelved.

Without Australia, AB InBev’s Asia-Pacific operations would be more focused on faster growth markets such as China, India and Vietnam, which made the IPO an easier sell, said sources.