Malaysian wireless carrier Maxis seeks up to US$406m in share sale

[HONG KONG] Malaysian wireless carrier Maxis Bhd plans to raise up to US$406 million in a share offering to pay down debt and finance the potential acquisition of mobile phone waves, IFR reported on Monday, citing a term sheet of the transaction.

The offering consists of 300 million new shares in an indicative range of 5.52-5.75 ringgit each, valuing the deal at up to 1.73 billion ringgit (S$560.1 million), added IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication.

The pricing represents a discount of between 2.2 per cent and 6.1 per cent to Friday's close of 5.88 ringgit, the terms showed.

Maxis did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment on the share sale plan.

The company earlier requested trading of its shares to be halted, pending a material announcement. It did not disclose further information.

The new shares will increase Maxis' free float to 37.1 per cent from 35.1 percent, the terms showed.

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Credit Suisse were hired as joint bookrunners for the offering.

The stock is down about 1.7 per cent so far in 2017, compared with a 9 per cent gain for the broader market index .

REUTERS