Australia’s largest IPO of 2023, Redox, opens slightly lower on debut
AUSTRALIAN chemical distributor Redox’s shares opened slightly below their issue price as the country’s largest initial public offering (IPO) this year debuted on the Australian Securities Exchange on Monday (Jul 3).
The firm raised A$402 million (S$361 million) by selling its shares at A$2.55. Shares slid 2.3 per cent in the first 30 minutes of trading to A$2.49, underperforming the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index, which was up 0.25 per cent at 0232 GMT on Monday.
The tepid performance will temper hopes that a strong performance by Redox could help revive Australia’s flatlining equity capital markets. New share sales have fallen to a 14-year low, according to Refinitiv data.
There were US$26.4 million worth of IPOs in Australia so far this year, not including Redox, down from US$493.1 million at the same time last year, the data showed.
The 94 per cent decline in Australian IPOs outpaced the 28.5 per cent fall in issuance valuation that occurred across the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, in the first half.
The IPO gave Redox a A$1.3 billion market capitalisation and its shares were priced at the low end of the range flagged to investors when the bookbuild launched in early June.
Domestic airline Virgin Australia is expected to raise A$1 billion later this year, most likely in November, which would be the largest IPO in Australia in nearly three years. REUTERS
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