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Published: Thursday September 20, 2012 MYT 8:11:00 AM

Report: Malaysia's Astro locks in cornerstones for IPO


KUALA LUMPUR: Nomura and Great Eastern are among the 16 cornerstone investors for the $1.5 billion listing of pay-TV firm Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the flotation on Wednesday.

The other cornerstone investors included Standard Pacific and Malaysia's state-owned and largest fund management firm Permodalan Nasional Bhd, the sources added.

Government support and interest from local investors have eased listings for recent Malaysian market debutants, including the $3.3 billion flotation of Felda Global Venture Holdings Bhd in June, the world's third-largest so far this year.

Cornerstone investors bought around 62 percent of IHH Healthcare Bhd's $2.1 billion IPO and nearly one third of the listing by planter Felda Global.

"Malaysia is a very different market," Abdul Jalil Abdul Rasheed, who helps manage $3 billion as CEO of Aberdeen Islamic Asset Management in Kuala Lumpur, told Reuters on Wednesday. "Malaysia loves large IPOs so I think take-up will be strong judging from previous issues."

Cornerstone investors placed bids for more than 70 percent of the institutional shares of Astro as of last Thursday, an earlier source told Reuters on Tuesday, underscoring the growing interest in Malaysian deals and the emergence of Southeast Asian capital markets.

Equity issuance in Malaysia stands at about $7.9 billion year-to-date, compared with $3.9 billion last year.

Stock in Malaysian IPOs this year has gained 17 percent on average since the companies listed, according to Thomson Reuters publication IFR.

Astro, controlled by Malaysia's second-richest man Ananda Krishnan, is offering up to 1.52 billion shares.

Based on an indicative price range of 2.70-3.00 ringgit per share, the offering could fetch 4.1 billion-4.56 billion ringgit.

The company will open its institutional book on Thursday and close on Oct. 3, one of the sources added.

Ananda, who owns telecom and energy companies, is relisting Astro after it was privatised in 2010 in a deal that valued it at around 8.5 billion ringgit.

The deal is being handled by CIMB Group Holdings Bhd , Malayan Banking Bhd and RHB Capital Bhd . Several foreign banks are also advisers, including UBS AG, Credit Suisse Group AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co - Reuters

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