ThaiBev Nears Singapore IPO Filing for $10 Billion Unit

(Bloomberg) -- Thai Beverage Pcl is planning to lodge a filing to list its brewery unit on the Singapore stock exchange as soon as next week, people familiar with the matter said, paving the way for what could be the biggest initial public offering in the city-state in a decade.

The drinks maker plans to seek a valuation of about $10 billion for the unit, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. A listing in the Southeast Asian nation could happen as soon as the second quarter, one of the people said.

ThaiBev, controlled by Thailand’s richest man, in 2019 confirmed the company is weighing an IPO of the brewing unit after Bloomberg News reported the listing plan. The firm at that time didn’t provide details such as valuation and listing venue.

The IPO could be the Singapore bourse’s biggest since Hutchison Port Holdings Trust raised $5.5 billion in 2011. It would also give a boost to first-time share sales in the republic, where IPO volumes plunged to $915 million last year, the least since 2015, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

ThaiBev is best known for producing Chang, a lager whose green bottles are adorned with an image of two elephants. It also brews Archa beer and the German-inspired Federbrau brand. In 2017, ThaiBev’s Vietnamese affiliate bought a controlling stake in Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp., the country’s largest brewer, for about $4.8 billion.

Apart from the brewery business, ThaiBev runs distilleries that produce liquor including SangSom rum, Meridian brandy and Drummer whisky. It owns about 28% of Singapore’s Fraser & Neave Ltd., which sells 100Plus soft drinks and Magnolia dairy products, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The group is controlled by Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, who is Thailand’s richest person with a net worth of about $16.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Deliberations on the unit’s IPO including size and timing could still change, the people said. A representative for ThaiBev didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

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