China Tianrui Group Cement, a leading clinker and cement producer in the Henan and Liaoning provinces, yesterday kicked off both the institutional roadshow and the retail offering for an initial public offering of between HKD996.17 million and HKD1.45 billion (USD124 million to USD186 million).
The company is offering 400.9 million shares at a price ranging from HKD2.41 to HKD3.61 each, according to a term sheet. The deal size could be increased to as much as USD214 million if the 15 per cent greenshoe is exercised in full. The offering accounts for 16.7 per cent of the equity capital pre-shoe and 18.7 per cent post-shoe. All the shares are new.
The cement producer has set aside 10 per cent of the deal for Hong Kong retail investors and will offer the remaining 90 per cent to institutional investors.
China Tianrui hits the market after a score of companies have flocked to Hong Kong in recent weeks to grab the last window to launch an IPO this year.
Although the overall response has been rather cautious — most of the IPOs have priced either at or near the bottom of the indicated ranges and seen weak demand from retail investors — Hong Kong is on its way to becoming the world’s top destination for new listings in 2011 for the third year in a row, according to Dealogic.
While China Tianrui hasn’t signed up any cornerstone investors, it does have the support of three pre-IPO investors who will own a combined 52.5 per cent of the company after listing and are subject to a six-month lock-up. They are: Titan Investments, which is majority owned by KKR Asian Fund; JP Morgan PCA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JP Morgan Private Capital Asia Fund I; and Wan Qi, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company’s non-executive director.
The price range values China Tianrui at a 2012 price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 2.4 times to 3.6 times, according to the joint bookrunners’ estimate. That puts it at a discount to its primary comparables, including China Shanshui Cement Group, which trades at about 4.2 times, a source said.
China Tianrui plans to use about 95 per cent of the proceeds from the global offering for debt repayments and the remaining 5 per cent for general working capital.
The company’s strength lies in its position as the biggest producer of clinker in Henan and Liaoning, the largest cement producer in Henan and the second-biggest cement producer in Liaoning, it said in a listing document published on the Hong Kong stock exchange website.
The company also noted that it has benefited from China’s fast-growing economy, large infrastructure development projects, including those under the government’s Rmb4 trillion (USD625 billion) stimulus package, and the government policies to phase out obsolete cement production capacity. It also expects to benefit from the government’s plan to develop 36 million affordable housing units for low-income urban residents by 2016.
As of the end of June, China Tianrui’s annual production capacity of clinker and cement amounted to 22.2 million and 35.2 million tonnes, respectively. That makes it the 10th largest cement producer in terms of production volume and the 11th largest clinker producer in terms of production capacity in China, according to the company’s website.
It is a primary cement provider for many high-profile and large-scale infrastructure projects in China, such as the South-North Water Transfer Project.
The management roadshow and the Hong Kong public offering will both close on December 19, when the final price is expected to be set. The listing is scheduled for December 23.
The deal is being arranged by BOC International, Bocom International, CCB International and Deutsche Bank.
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