GHY Culture & Media debuts on SGX at 6.1% above IPO price

ENTERTAINMENT and content provider XJB : XJB 0% began trading on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange on Friday at S$0.70, some 6.1 per cent higher than its initial public offering (IPO) price of S$0.66 per share.

As at 10.02am, the stock eased to trade at S$0.665, translating to a gain of about 0.8 per cent from the IPO price. With nearly 8.7 million shares changing hands at that time, GHY was one of the most active counters by volume on the Singapore bourse in the morning.

GHY group chief executive officer and chairman Guo Jingyu on Friday said the listing enables the firm - which produces and promotes dramas, films and concerts in the Asia-Pacific region - to enhance its profile both in Singapore and abroad.

"With our expansion plans and exciting projects in the pipeline, we are well-positioned to capture new opportunities in the media and entertainment industry and establish ourselves as the choice entertainment group in the region," Mr Guo added.

GHY sold 21.7 million shares priced at S$0.66 apiece as part of its listing on SGX. The offering comprised 18.7 million placement shares and a public offer of three million shares. The public offer closed at noon on Wednesday.

The firm on Thursday evening reported that it received applications from both retail and institutional investors for 16 times the number of shares available in the IPO's public tranche. There were 1,402 valid applications for a total of 48.1 million shares under the public tranche.

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Meanwhile, for the placement, GHY received indications of interest for some 160.4 million shares with a total value of S$105.9 million. That means the placement was about 8.6 times subscribed.

Concurrent with but separate from the IPO, 10 cornerstone investors subscribed for and purchased an aggregate of 162.7 million cornerstone shares, of which 141.2 million will be new shares issued by the company. The remaining 21.5 million shares are sold by investment holding company Taiho Holding and group adviser John Ho Ah Huat.

The cornerstone investors consist of Epical Entertainment, Hong Kong Chixin Investment, consultancy firm ICH Capital, entertainment service provider iQiyi International Singapore, King Kong Media Production, OSIM International founder Ron Sim and his group's brand creator V3 Brands, Songful Global Investment, Qilin Asset Management, and investment holding company Yinson Capital.

GHY said the offering, issuance of new cornerstone shares and sale of vendor cornerstone shares would raise gross proceeds of about S$121.7 million.

It intends to use most of the net proceeds from both the IPO and the cornerstone share issuance to expand its TV programme and film production business, and the concert production segment. It will do so by investing in productions, acquisitions, joint ventures and/or strategic alliances.

SGX's head of global sales and origination, Chew Sutat, said on Friday: "Among its future plans, GHY intends to leverage technological advancements to further diversify into new media content such as interactive dramas."

"Entertainment has become an ubiquitous part of our lives, in particular online video platforms which have grown increasingly popular given the ease and convenience of Internet streaming," Mr Chew noted.

The bourse operator "looks forward to continue being GHY's global fundraising partner, as it expands its international reach and uses its media to bridge between China and the Asean region", he added.

Following the IPO, GHY's capitalisation stands at about S$708.7 million. This adds to SGX's mainboard listings with a combined market capitalisation of more than S$856.3 billion, the bourse operator said on Friday.

GHY has produced several dramas and films in China, Singapore and Malaysia that have been broadcast and distributed on major TV networks and video-streaming platforms. It also has upcoming concerts in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. In addition, the company provides talent management services and costumes, props and makeup services in China and Singapore.

DBS, UOB Kay Hian and Bank of China, Singapore were its IPO's joint underwriters and bookrunners.