MeGroup's public offer 1.3 times subscribed at the close of IPO

MALAYSIAN car dealership and automotive parts maker MeGroup announced on Tuesday that its 1.5 million shares for public offer received 90 valid applications and were approximately 1.3 times subscribed, at the close of its initial public offering (IPO) at 12 noon on Monday.

In aggregate, MeGroup's IPO of 16.5 million invitation shares was approximately 1.0 time subscribed.

MeGroup has priced its IPO at S$0.23 per share, ahead of a listing on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange. The IPO will raise net proceeds of S$2.4 million through the issuance of 16.5 million new shares, comprising a placement tranche of 15 million shares and a public offer of 1.5 million shares.

The listing of MeGroup and the trading of its shares on a "ready" basis are expected to commence at 9am on Oct 31. CIMB Bank Berhad, Singapore Branch is the sponsor and issue manager for the IPO and CGS-CIMB Securities (Singapore) is the underwriter and placement agent.

Wong Cheong Chee, executive chairman and CEO of MeGroup, said: "Our goal is to be listed in Singapore because we believe that our listed status will boost our reputation and credibility in the market for future business deals and also gives us access to the capital markets to support our future growth.

"Once listed, we would like to execute our plans and aim to show investors our growth performance as we steadily expand our businesses."

The group intends to invest in new technologies to increase its manufacturing capability and cost efficiency, while upgrading its machinery and equipment to increase productivity.

It will also pursue other upstream opportunities such as acquiring new technologies to manufacture other types of raw materials required in its manufacturing of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) and non-NVH components, among other plans.