GIC-backed co-working firm JustCo opens 9.6% below IPO price in lacklustre mainboard debut

[SINGAPORE] Shares of flexible workspace operator JustCo opened below their initial public offering price in a tepid mainboard debut on Friday (May 22).

As at 9 am, the counter opened at at S$0.85, 9.6 per cent or S$0.09 below its IPO price of S$0.94 per share, with around one million shares changing hands.

By 9.33 am, the stock was trading at S$0.855, still down 9 per cent or S$0.085 after 1.9 million shares changed hands.

The lacklustre debut follows the close of its IPO of 32.1 million offering shares, which was 3.4 times subscribed.

The offering comprised an international offer, which includes a placement of 25.8 million shares to institutional and other investors in Singapore and foreign institutional and selected investors outside the US.

The international offer was 3.6 times subscribed, representing S$91.9 million of demand.

Meanwhile, the Singapore public offer component comprised 6.3 million shares on offer, which received 1,069 valid acceptances for nearly 17 million shares. This amounts to around S$15.9 million received and a subscription rate of 2.7 times.

Separate from the offering, JustCo secured commitments from nine cornerstone investors who subscribed for an aggregate of 74.3 million cornerstone shares. This represented 70 per cent of the total shares in issue post-offering.

The cornerstone investors included Avanda Investment Management, JP Morgan Asset Management (Singapore), Amova Asset Management Asia and Fullerton Fund Management.

SEE ALSO

Workspace provider JustCo files preliminary prospectus for mainboard IPO

JustCo targets S$100 million mainboard IPO to expand into existing and new markets

Together with the S$69.8 million in secured cornerstone commitments, the offering raised around S$100 million.

Kong Wan Sing, executive chairman and CEO at JustCo, said that the IPO results reflect market confidence in JustCo’s business.

The company is now at an “inflection point”, having established its presence in the markets it operates in and built a “strong financial position”, Kong said.

“(We) intend to execute a well-calibrated strategic expansion plan. As we begin this new chapter as a publicly listed company, we remain focused on growth, and delivering long-term value to our members, partners and shareholders.”